The Elemental Gem Stones
by Harley Harlequinade
Summary: [FIRST CHRONICLE IN TOWA NO MIRAI] After meeting the enigmatic Kushiyè and joyful Chunzhu, the Reikai Tantei hear that there are objects that control the elements themselves! Will the two turn out to be harbingers of a whole different life for the tantei
1. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 1

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #1 - Shinka no Youkai. EREMENTARU JEMU SUTOONSU wa Touhin  
  
- An Evoutionary Demon. The Elemental Gem Stones are Stolen -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
Disclaimer & Intro: Although YuYu Hakusho is a copyright of Togashi Yoshihiro/Shueisha, Fuji TV, Studio Pierrot, and FUNimation Productions, Ltd.; Towa no Mirai (TM,TnM) is the property of Reiko Aya and Towasei Norei. No one is to take the likenesses, names, storylines, or other original details unless they happen to be Togashi-sensei himself, or some other Japanese official.   
  
Towa no Mirai is a fanfic that was published on the internet from March 1, 2003 to this day. Towa no Mirai takes place in the anime right after the end of Honou no Kizuna (the second movie), but as for episode chronology, we estimated it should take place after the Sensui Arc or maybe the Ankoku Bujutsukai (It confuses me. Puu isn't there but Kuwabara has the Dimension Sword, and it can't take place after the series because Keiko's hair is still short. Hnnh...)  
  
If you want to read the fanfiction with less popups from fanfiction.net or just want to see how the fanfic looks officially, please visit the website at the top. :) Please visit the site listed above for fanart, profiles, fan-shrines, fan-fanfiction, etc. Visit http://towa-no-mirai.tk to have a look. :)  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Deep in a dark forest, shrouded by trees, where only demons dwell, called the Youkai Mori, a young demon with long green hair sang a song with a melancholy tune to it.  
  
Embracing the light and shadow that are trembling within my heart Chasing the dream I can't throw away The proud love is ressurected...  
  
A seemlingly young girl watched with worry in her clear, deep blue eyes,  
  
"Kushiyè..." her soft voice echoed.  
  
The singing continued, The colors of the sunset are painful and beautiful and in the sea of my closed heart are tears that have overflowed. Tomorrow, I want freedom like the blowing wind. Embracing light and shadow that are trembling within my heart Chasing the dream I can't throw away, Someday, I want to find the eternally outspreading future.  
  
The singing demon concluded her song with a sigh, then spotted the girl watching her, "Huh?" she recognized her friend, Chou Chunzhu, "Zhu." she said with a small smile. Kushiyè jumped down from the sakura (cherry blossom) tree she was sitting in.  
  
"How long have you been here...? Were you listening to me singing?" the young demon asked in her sweet, Australian-accented voice.  
  
She nodded, "Daijobou ka (Are you alright?)" Chunzhu, or Zhu, as everyone called her for short, asked softly. Her rediculously long blue hair billowed with a sudden gust of wind.  
  
"Sou (Yes), just tired." Kushiyè answered, walking away.  
  
"Hey, where are you going Kushiyè? WAIT!" Chunzhu tried to catch her, but Kushiyè was too fast, and when Chunzhu managed to get close to her, Kushiyè's wolfen tails got in the way.  
  
Chunzhu, giving up, put on an exasperated look, "Something is definitely wrong... she is so stubborn!"  
  
Thunder sounded, and the evening sky was darkened by clouds, "Huh? What... oh no." Chunzhu then got a little frightened, "This looks like the beginning of a big storm. I do not like this. It is coming from Kushiyè's direction." she looked over to where she had run off to, "Kushiyè! Wait, Kushiyè be careful! A demonic storm is heading your way!" Chunzhu called, waving her arm after her in a futile attempt to catch her attention.  
  
Kushiyè turned to see what the fuss was about. She raised her eyebrow at Chunzhu, unable to make out what she was saing, "Whatever." she said nonchalantly, and continued. All of a sudden, Kushiyè banged her head on something small and clad in black, but still bigger than her miunuscule height of about 4'0". She fell unconscious, into the deep river beside the path she was walkiing on, with choppy waters due to the storm. Chunzhu finally caught up and froze when she saw Kushiyè in the water, the river being struck randomly by lightening. She wasn't going to go in there to get her...  
  
The small, black youkai, Hiei, out of a moment of adrenaline, did something very out-of-character and decided to rescue the drowning wolf demon. After she was safely out of the water, he started to make his way to the isolated temple of Genkai, ingoring the other shocked girl standing there, confused about the events that had just taken place. Then, she ran off, and as she did, rain began to fall rapidly.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kushiyè lay, still unconscious, on the smooth wooden floor of the temple. For her, it was very comfortable, if you noticed the peaceful look on her face. She was completely unaware of the large pair of red eyes staring at her from a nearby tree branch.  
  
Genkai spotted the odd scenario and rolled her eyes at Hiei's behavior, "I never knew that Hiei was a pervert." she said to herself with a short laugh.  
  
Apparently, Hiei put too much of his weight on the thin branch that he sat on, because it snapped, and he fell to the windowsill of the window he was looking through.  
  
* * * * Chunzhu was now searching for Kushiyè. After brushing past a few more branches and into a clearing, she came across the temple of Genkai.  
  
Maybe the people here saw her. She thought hopefully. She walked to a pair of akarishouji (those wooden and paper doors used for temples), and knocked on a thin wooden panel that held the door together.  
  
Genkai answered, and remembering an encounter with the Lord of the Netherworld, she asked suspiciously, "Who are you? Why did you come here without permission?"  
  
Chunzhu was a little taken aback to answer immediately. As she scanned her mind for the right words, Genkai impatiently shifted over a little, accidentally revealing Chunzhu's motionless friend.  
  
"Oh, Inari (the Japanese god of rice, usually represents kitsune), what happened to her?" Chunzhu's eyes widened.  
  
Hiei showed up, out of nowhere, like always. In a slightly silly voice, result of colliding head-on with a hard piece of wood, said, "Well, you see... I kind of... um... knocked her out."  
  
"What?" Chunzhu looked up to him in disbelief, "How did you do that? She is so stubborn, and your head would have to be as hard as diamonds, or something just as hard."  
  
"Your friend isn't the only stubborn one here." Genkai whispered to Chunzhu, eyeing Hiei, who slid over to them, katana drawn.  
  
"What did you say?" Hiei asked in a threatening tone.  
  
A hint of nervousness crossed their faces. Genkai cleared her throat, "Nothing. We didn't say anything, right?" she shot a warning glance at Chunzhu.  
  
"Uh... right." she said cheerfully, giving her head a nod. She then turned toward the doors, "Well, I just came to check on Kushiyè. I have to go to school now." she waved her hand, "Ja ne."  
  
* * * *  
  
At Meiou Gakuen, Chunzhu stumbled in, aware that she and everyone else knew she was late.  
  
She collected herself and her things and sighed, "If only I did not procrastinate at that temple..."  
  
The teacher looked up from the work that was laid on the desk set in front of the room, "Oh yes, that new student... Chou-san (Miss Chou)?"  
  
Chunzhu nodded, "Chou Chunzhu... The student from Beijing." she explained shortly before taking an empty seat in the first row, third seat from the left.  
  
"Do you need anyone to help you?" the teacher asked, returning to the work.  
  
Chunzhu shook her head in refusal, "I am fine." she said, right before contradicting her own statement by falling off her chair and knocking her desk over along with it.   
  
An eruption of laughter followed, and then the intelligent, emerald-eyed Minamino Shuuichi walked over to her, and help her fix everything up again. He felt a little guilty, so he spoke up before he even knew what he was saying, "I can help you if you like. Boku wa Minamino Shuuichi desu (I'm Minamino Shuuichi. Sorry, it sounds so much better in Japanese ^^)."  
  
Chunzhu beamed at him, "Arigatou Gozaimasu." (Thank you. It's a polite way of saying it.)  
  
He was surprised by her cheer, still there even if she had embarrased herself. He nodded slowly in return, and walked back to his desk, ignoring the rumors everyone had started to spread about her. Truthfully, he really didn't look forward to it. She seemed nice... but a little too odd. Her energy seemed like that of an... animal's? Not to mention those blank eyes... He decided it was too unlikely she was a demon or anything like that, though.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kushiyè finally woke up right after midday. She was in a place unfamiliar to her, and was quite surprised when an old woman with wavy pink hair came in and gave her an amused look, "So you've finally woken up."  
  
"How long have I been here?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
"About two days." Genkai replied, "You were knocked unconscious, courtesy of Hiei, and were brought here while you recovered."  
  
"Who's Hiei?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
"Well, you're inquisitive." Genkai smiled, and looked toward the door, "Speak of the devil, he's right here."  
  
Hiei glared about being referred to as a devil, unaware that it was a figure of speech, and thinking of the ugly beings that inhabited Makai (Demon World) and Meikai (Netherworld), "I have to leave now. Kurama has informed me of a new mission."  
  
Genkai nodded, and turned to Kushiyè, "Will you be fine by yourself?"  
  
Kushiyè nodded, and as soon as Genkai left, she climbed out of the window and decided to follow Hiei, out of curiosity.  
  
* * * *  
  
She wound up spying from the highest tree in a cluster of them at Hanesaki Park, where Botan had gathered all the detectives. Kushiyè arrived to hear a fragment of a sentence Botan was saying.  
  
"-kitsune Suishori had to guard the Elemental Gems. Of course, many youkai have tried getting them, so she obtained a human form and settled in Ningenkai. But now, some have become strong or powerful enough to get into Ningenkai, and their goal is to-"  
  
"Retrieve the Gems, right? So what are we supposed to do?" Yusuke asked, impatient. Judging by the tone in his voice, they all knew that he had either gotten a lecture from Mr. Takenaka, or a slap from Keiko.  
  
"Well, all of you have to make sure to look after her." Botan handed Yusuke a photograph.  
  
"Great, Keiko's going to be thrilled that I'm going to have to follow around some strange girl." he muttered, wondering how they managed to obtain this picture. Without a doubt, he had received a slap from Keiko earlier, so hard he was reluctant to go near this Suishori girl.  
  
"So where do we find her?" Kurama asked.  
  
It was obvious nobody had seen her before. She wasn't someone who would be walking around casually... in any of the three worlds, for that matter. She looked a little old-fashioned, wearing a long, light blue dress, elegantly decorated with large teal gemstones. She had ice blue eyes and long white hair to match her white fox ears and five tails.  
  
Botan smiled, "Kurama, I'm surprised you don't know. She attends your school."  
  
Kurama shook his head, "I've never seen her." Although she did look a little familiar...  
  
Botan sweatdropped, "Well, did you forget she has a human form? I'm sure you'll be able to sense a fox spirit, even if her human self's appearance is a mystery." she winked, and in a flash of light her oar appeared, with which she flew into the sky.  
  
"We should start looking now." Hiei suggested suddenly.  
  
Botan was right. I DID sense a fox spirit somewhere... Kurama thought to himself. And then, the obvious answer came to him, "No, that's not neccesary, Hiei. I already know who she is. She's pretending to be a student from Beijing, Chou Chunzhu." How could he ever forget that joy, those eerie, fathomless eyes...? And not recognize her ki...?  
  
Kushiyè nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. Zhu, the ditzy, silly girl who had an obsession for shopping, who tripped again and again over her own feet, was really an important fox guardian! And from what she heard, she was in trouble. She then gracefully jumped out of the large tree and said to the four, "If Zhu, or Suishori, in this matter, is in trouble, I'll team up with you. She's a friend of mine."  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes, "Were you eavestropping?" he then gave her a smirk, "Well, I'm glad to see you've finally woken up."  
  
"Would you people stop saying-" Kushiyè began, but was interrupted.  
  
"Oh, so you know her?" Kuwabara asked while trying to stifle a laugh.  
  
Honestly, he'd do anything to try to embarrass Hiei. He replied with a glare, "You pervert, I just knocked her unconscious."  
  
Before things could get any worse, Kurama spoke up, "So, you're going to assist us?"   
  
"Yes, but..." Kushiyè sweatdropped, "An introduction would be nice. I don't even know who you guys are."  
  
"Oh, of course. My name's Kurama." he replied, and pointed to each individual as he said, "That's Urameshi Yusuke, Kuwabara Kazuma, and Jaganshi Hiei."  
  
"My name's Kushiyè, the wolf demon." she replied.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu looked around at the scenery of Hanesaki Park, nibbling on some kurodzukuri (fried squid dipped in its own ink). I know I saw Kushiyè around here. She thought to herself. She had something important to tell her... something about her kitsune self. And the Elemental Gem Stones- She stopped in mid-thought when she saw something in a thicket of bushes. A whisp of green hair. She approached slowly, and saw the group of five conversing. They all sensed her sudden presence, and all eleven eyes in the group were on her.  
  
"That's Suishori-sama." Kurama whispered to them.  
  
"Nihao! (Chinese for Hello)" she sang naively, "Kushiyè, are these friends of yours? They seem familiar." Or what about the talk she had with Koenma about needing assistance in protecting the Elemental Gem Stones? Did he actually send some people?  
  
Kushiyè tapped Chunzhu's shoulder so that she faced her, "These people are here to, um, help with guarding the Elemental Gem Stones. That's Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kazuma." she motioned to each as she said their names.  
  
Chunzhu looked quizically at Kurama, "Was your name not Shuuichi?" Kurama... that name seemed a little familiar...  
  
"Um... you could call it a nickname." he said.  
  
"And how do you know about the E-"  
  
"Koenma, prince of the Reikai. We're Reikai Tantei, so he gives us missions, and in this case, it's guarding you from the youkai who want to control the elements."  
  
Chunzhu didn't have a chance to respond, because Botan rushed in on her oar, a worried look on her usually happy face, "Watch out!" she called.  
  
They all turned to an area from which an ugly horned and fanged youkai emerged, ready to kill.  
  
"Shotgun!" Yusuke cried, blasts of ki shooting from his fist.  
  
The youkai fell, unfortunately having one of its sharp claws leave a gash in Yusuke's right shoulder, and knocking him off of his feet.  
  
"What was that about?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"I was trying to warn you." Botan jumped from her oar, "That was just a minion, from a very powerful group of thirteen demons. And worse yet, they managed to pass through the barrier to Ningenkai (Human World)"  
  
"After the Elemental Gems, no doubt." Yusuke said, putting a hand on his shoulder to compress the wound.  
  
Chunzhu's smile flickered, "Strong enough to get into Ningenkai... and..." her voice trailed off as she got lost in her own thoughts. She let out a long sigh and looked over to Yusuke, who was getting up.  
  
"We can all go to my house." she offered, "It is only a block from ere. We can help Yusuke and you can explain, in detail, what is happening."  
  
Chunzhu led the way to her houze, a large, pastel-colored Victorian, and they all followed. Chunzhu went back to eating kurodzukuri until it was finished, with the help of Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Kurama.  
  
* * * *  
  
It was nearly midnight, and almost everyone was asleep. One who wasn't was a fire demon with black and red hair, and one of the few thirteen who were able to get into Ningenkai, Yousobi. He gave a look of hate to all his surroundings. The thick, dark Youkai Mori, and he smiled evily when he spotted his target: a young wolf demon sleeping soundly in a tree.  
  
Kushiyè... that's Suishori's... friend. The last word made him look even more hateful. But a second later, the smile was back on his face.  
  
She'll be of great use to us when the capture of the Elemental Gems is about to begin. With that, he swiftly snatched her from the tree branch she slept in, and they both disappeared in a burst of fire.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Kushiyè!" Chunzhu had been looking for hours around the Youkai Mori. She had somehow sensed her dissapearance a while ago... Her attention was drawn to a rustling behind a tree, and she turned in surprise to see Kushiyè. There was something strange, though...  
  
Her face was eerily blank, and behind her, a shadowy black and red figure. He whispered something to her, so quiet that Chunzhu couldn't hear, and the next thing she knew, Kushiyè started running after her.  
  
Chunzhu created a wall of kitsune-bi (foxfire) that, unfortunately, only would serve as a brief distraction as Chunzhu started running away. Sure enough, the light, swift footsteps of the young wolf girl seemed to get closer and closer.  
  
In the blink of an eye, Kushiyè had knocked Chunzhu to the ground, sharp claws drawn right in front of her face. Chunzhu was using all her strength to hold Kushiyè's hand just inches from her face.  
  
An evil laugh sounded, and after that, a voice sounded, "That's enough entertainment. You may stop now." Kushiyè's hand was taken away, and she stood up, expressionless. Yousobi stood, tall and surrounded in flame, and smirked at Chunzhu, "So, you're Suishori then. That's pathetic. You're such a weakling, and I was expecting a challenge."  
  
Chunzhu swallowed nervously, "What have you done to Kushiyè?"  
  
"I've merely brainwashed her, courtesy of my associates of the other elements. Under normal circumstances, I would love to see your friend rip you to pieces, but after doing some research, I've found out where you keep those Elemental Gems. They're in sort of a void somewhere, like a gate to a different dimension. Only you can access it, so I've prepared an offer: I'll give your friend back, and you'll give me all thirteen Elemental Gem Stones."  
  
Chunzhu's eyes widened, "All thirteen?"  
  
Fortunately, Kurama heard this conversation, and unfortunately, he was on the other side of a very tall wall, where he only heard, but didn't see. Chunzhu was the kind of person who would give in to any offer to save a friend of hers, but she can't make the wrong desicion. He decided to run around the block, instead of trying to climb the wall. He had to hurry, for Chunzhu had already conjourned all thirteen Elemental Gem Stones. He was currently on the end of the street she was on, but by the time he got there, Yousobi had already clasped the gem stones tight in his hand, and there wasn't enough time to prevent him from escaping. Yousobi disappeared in his traditional blast of fire, leaving no gem behind.  
  
Chunzhu was just standing there, stunned. Why had she given away the Elemental Gem Stones? She knew it was the wrong choice, but something forced her arms to place the gem stones with Yousobi. It was like she didn't have any control...  
  
"Suishori." Kurama muttered, "What have you done?"  
  
Chunzhu shivered in confusion, "I had no control... Kushiyè was brainwashed, and he wanted me to hand the gem stones over... Why did I do it?" she paused, "I had no control..." she repeated.  
  
He was unsure of what to say, so he just looked over to Kushiyè, now in a sleep-like state on the ground. It was hard to tell if Yousobi had kept his word, because her eyes were solemnly closed.  
  
Then, her eyes slowly began to open. She muttered, "Yousobi-sama calls me." and then she ran like a strong gust of wind.  
  
"Yousobi... did not keep his word..." Chunzhu sat cross-legged on the ground and inattentively began poking and petting the grass, wondering what had possessed her to do that.  
  
Kurama shook his head, "You shouldn't have trusted him. I tried to stop him, but..." he trailed off when he saw the hurt in her eyes.  
  
"I somehow could not control myself then though... I did not trust him, but something forced me to surrender the Gem Stones... I doubt you would know how I feel right now." she sighed and plucked a blade of grass, and started to slowly shred it.  
  
Kurama smiled slightly, and thought of his Kaasan and the Mirror of Darkness. He knelt down next to her, "We'll get everything sorted out. We can gather the tantei and go see what we can do about this situation, and even go consult Koenma, if you want."  
  
Chunzhu looked up at him. Her smile was still there... it was starting to scare him... She nodded in appreciation and agreement, and they both got up and began taking the walk that would hopefully save Kushiyè, and even more importantly, the Elemental Gem Stones. 


	2. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 2

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #2 - Kushiyè no Raifuku! Ryokou ni Makai Jousai  
  
- The Return of Kushiyè! A Trip to the Demon World Citadel -   
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
Note: Kurama gets confused when Kushiyè uses the word 'mate', because it could also mean a boyfriend or girlfriend, and the meaning is slightly different in the animal world (a little more ecchi). Kurama's a fox, and a fox is an animal, so you can figure out his assumption, but of course Kushiyè and he are just friends.  
  
Koenma was busy stamping papers in his office in Reikai, and was jsut about to stamp the last one in a formerly large stack on his desk, when a clamor rose from behind the large doors that led into his office. In came a distressed group of five, and everything said was inaudible.  
  
"QUIET!" Koenma yelled. He stamped his last paper, and then said, "Alright Suishori, why don't you tell me what's going on?"  
  
She nodded and took a deep breath inward, "The Elemental Gem Stones were stolen by a demon named Yousobi, who also kidnapped Kushiyè and brainwashed her," she blinked and took a fresh breath, "Onegai... we have to get the Elemental Gem Stones back, and save Kushiyè as well." she closed her eyes and cringed as an oni passed by and began talking to herself in Chinese.  
  
Hiei's eye twitched at the unknown language. He lightly kicked her with the tip of his boot, "Whining won't help. Just shut up and we can go get Kushiyè and the Elemental Gems back."  
  
Koenma took out a file, "Right, you'll be going to their citadel in Makai. Fortunately, I have the exact location," he handed them what looked like a map, "There will be thirteen fights or so, depending on if they send Kushiyè or any other demon to fight you. Now, however, they are more powerful than before, because now they control the elements."  
  
They all nodded in unison. Normally, either Yusuke or Kuwbara would have bragged about how they could take anyone on, but this wasn't a time for comic relief or humor.  
  
Botan popped out from behind them, "Hey guys. I'll be leading you all there. Um... be careful, okay?" she warned before exiting, everyone following in turn.  
  
* * * *  
  
As the group neared the stone-walled citadel, Zhu spotted a figure lying on the floor. Long, green hair; three bushy tails; pointed ears...  
  
"Kushiyè!" Zhu tried to run over to her, but Kurama held her arm back to prevent her from coming too close.  
  
"Remember, the last time we saw her, she was taken over by evil."  
  
"And again, she's unconscious," Hiei gave a small smile.  
  
"She is probably just exhausted. She must have been forced to fight a lot of demons, or...something..." she turned to Kurama, "If she is still possessed, I would have been able to handle her," she said, a little hurt.  
  
Just then, Kushiyè's eyes snapped open. She jumped up, her blank eyes filled with a message everyone could understand - 'Kill all intruders.'  
  
From above, a burning feeling suddenly came over them all, and there stood Yousobi, "Well Suishori, I see you've brought along some baka (idiots) with you. At least they know a trap when they see one. If they weren't here, you would've been killed like a rabbit," he licked his lips at the sudden thought of a tasty rabbit dinner, and then laughed at her, "Some fox you are!"  
  
Everyone glared, and Kuwabara drew out his Rei Ken, "Bastard! How dare you insult all of us?!"  
  
Yousobi broke into a fresh set of amused laughter, "Sayonara," he managed to say, wiping away tears. He then left with a swirl of fire.  
  
Kuwabara was practically emitting steam. He repetitively kicked the cold, grey stone walls, and with each kick came another cry of 'Bastard!', but he stopped when he saw a rope fly from his right, and directly in front of his face. When it landed on the stone floor beneath him, the floor crumbled into ashes. Luckily, he jumped away just in time. The one with the rope was Kushiyè, still brainwashed. Zhu recognized the rope Kushiyè was holding instantly.  
  
"That rope... She can put things of fire with that! We must avoid it. Come on!" they would have all went from the fight to think of a plan, if they didn't hear the screams of the one they left behind. Kuwbara. They turned around and saw Kushiyè using her rope to strangle Kuwbara around the neck. They all ran over, and tried prying her off.  
  
"Kushiyè, what are you oding? Have you forgotten everything? Try to remember something, anything." Zhu urged Kushiyè, grabbing onto her shoulders.  
  
Kushiyè shoved Zhu off, but Hiei was able to grab back on, a light, unnoticed blush coming across his face. He narrowed his eyes at her once he remembered she was not on their side.  
  
"What are you doing? Kuwabara may be stupid, but he's not your enemy!"  
  
Kuwabara heard Hiei's remark and tried his best while being chocked to death to scowl or glare at Hiei.  
  
Kushiyè let go of her rope with one hand to hit Hiei. She hit him so hard, he flew into a granite wall and fell unconscious.  
  
Kurama looked worridly at him, "Suishori-sama, can you and Yusuke manage while I go check on him?" Kushiyè was now trying to break free and attack Kuwabara from up close, forcing them to increase their efforts.  
  
Zhu nodded, and she and Yusuke both tightened their grips. Kurama smiled at their determination and went over to Hiei and shook him violently by the shoulders.  
  
"Hiei! Are you still alive?"  
  
Hiei's hand twitched. Then, it slowly went up to his head, "Ow." he muttered, looking at Kurama, "Let me get up," he demanded.  
  
"No Hiei. Stay here. You're too wounded to fight," Kurama said as he saw Hiei try to get up.  
  
"No Kurama. I must try to help Kushiyè, at least." Hiei stated as he rose to his feet.  
  
Kurama gave him a sly smile, "Oh, I see now. Yes, it's very clear."  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes at him, but blushed a little, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Oh, I think you know what I'm talking about." Kurama smirked, "Maybe my little friend is kind of love sick."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?! I am not love sick!" Hiei exclaimed as he blushed a bright crimson.  
  
Yusuke saw his demon friends arguing. This was not a good time to be doing that, "Uh, guys, I hate to tell you this, but WE STILL HAVE A PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS!!!" Kushiyè began to beat Yusuke with one hand, "Ow, damn, she's strong! That hurts! Ow, stop hitting me, Kushiyè!!!"  
  
"Oh, I kind of forgot about that." Kurama said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.  
  
"Oh, Kurama, I'm not love sick." Hiei said in an angry whisper as he began a tired walk over.  
  
"Kushiyè, this is clearly not your true self. Please wake up, before you kill Hiei and Kazuma." she said with a nervous smile, as an attempt to wake her up.  
  
"Suishori, watch out behind you!" Kurama warned as Kushiyè finally let go of Kuwabara and started charging at Chunzhu.  
  
Chunzhu winced as Kushiyè landed a strong, direct hit on her left arm. She let out a pained whimper and fell to the ground.  
  
"No, Suishori!" Kurama cried as she took the hit, and then looked at all who were hurt and turned to Yusuke to tell him his desicion, "Yusuke, go check on Kuwabara. Then, go get Suishori..." Hiei then fell unconscious again, as he did take a nasty hit on the head, "... and Hiei out of here. Don't return, you're injured as well." he ordered.  
  
"But... what about you?" Yusuke inquired.  
  
"I'm going to try to save Kushiyè. Now go!!!"  
  
"Right." Yusuke said as he got Kuwabara, Hiei, and Chunzhu. After a quick call using his communication mirror, Botan came along to gather them and bring them back to Ningenkai. Specifically, Genkai's temple.  
  
An unknown voice sounded, and laughed mockingly, "Good job, Kushiyè. You did all the work for me. But now I'm afraid I don't need you anymore, so say good bye to the living world!"  
  
"Huh?" Kurama turned to see where the voice's owner was, "Oh no, that creep must bee an Elemental Demon, and he's going to kill Kushiyè!"  
  
Just then, Kushiyè was unleashed from the spell, "Huh? Where am I? Kurama? What just happened?!" she gasped, "Where's everyone else?"  
  
Oh, this is great. NOW she wakes up. Kurama thought to himself.  
  
"Kurama, tell me what just happened." Kushiyè ordered.  
  
"Well ... You see... You kind of ... Sort of ..." he was having trouble finding the exact words to describe what had happened.  
  
"Please just tell. I'm getting very impatient." Kushiyè said with narrowed eyes.  
  
"You attacked them and knocked Hiei unconscious, strangled Kazuma, and nearly broke Suishori's arm, so I sent Yusuke to take them to Genkai's temple." Kurama explained.  
  
"Oh no, are they alright?" Kushiyè asked nervously.  
  
"I don't know, but we'll find out, okay? But right now, we've go bigger problems."  
  
"Like what?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
"Well listen. Somebody is trying to kill you."  
  
The voice sounded again, annoyed from being ignored, "Yes, I'm Yousorai, the thunder demon! You can't ignore me! I'm badass! I'm unbeatalbe! I have the element-"  
  
Kushiyè interrupted, "I don't think so! Because, you see, you're too slow." she went to him with whirlwind speed, and returned to Kurama with the Elemental Gem of Thunder in her hand.  
  
"What did you just do?" Kurama asked, shocked.  
  
"Oh, I see. You thought Hiei was the only fast one. Well, I don't think you know mate, that I'm way faster than that bloke. Oh, and I didn way more damage to him than just getting the gem. I also gave him sone nice, third-degree burns with my rope." Kushiyè explained, sitting down for a quick rest and holding up her weapon.  
  
"Well, that's what I call rope burn." Kurama joked.  
  
"What?" Kushiyè asked, not understanding the joke.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Just a joke."  
  
"oh."  
  
"Now let's go check on Suishori and the others," Kurama suggested as he helped Kushiyè to her feet.  
  
"Alright, mate." Kushiyè responded as she got up.  
  
"Wait. What did you call me?" Kurama asked suspiciously.  
  
"'Mate' is Australian for 'friend.'"  
  
"Oh, okay." Thank Inari-sama it wasn't the other meaning. Kurama thought to himself.  
  
* * * *  
  
A group of twelve approached the dying Yousorai. At the front was Yousobi. He looked at Yousorai and then said, "How stupid. He was so full of pride, that he was beaten by that stubborn tomboy, and lost the Elemental Gem of Thunder to her."  
  
A peaceful, smooth, and sweet voice spoke up, sounding like the steady flow of a stream. It's owner had dark blue eyes and hair, and her hair was in long ringlets, two pigtails and two short curls of hair on each side of her face. She looked inquisitively at Yousobi and Yousorai, "What do we do about him, sir?" she asked.  
  
"Simple, Yousokawa." Yousobi flicked his wrist and Yousorai's body was cremeated in an instant, "We attack at Ningenkai," he smirked at his group, "Any volunteers?" 


	3. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 3

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #3 - Raikou Kaze no Shoujo! Zhu-chan Toriageru Uchuu Kitsu no Maho  
  
- Enter the Maiden of Wind! Zhu takes up the Magic of the Heavens Fox -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
It was a calm, peaceful morning at the temple. Yukina and Chunzhu were helping Genkai with the daily cleaning of the temple. An extremely strong gust of wind then interrupted the peaceful day. From the whirlwind-like formation it made came a young girl with long blonde hair in a ponytail, with thick bangs, hanging high in the air. Her large blue eyes spotted the temple.  
  
"Time to have some fun!" she smirked and flew down to grab a handful of grass, and arranged it on the porch. After finishing it, it said: DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE ELEMENTS ANY LONGER.  
  
She smiled to herself, "Yousokaze, you are just brilliant... Let that be a warning." she then flew up into the sky, and dissapeared as quickly as she had appeared.  
  
When Chunzhu went out to sweep the porch, she spotted the message. "Genkai-shihan? Yukina-san? Someone has written something!" she called.  
  
After everyone examined it and considered it harmless, Genkai sweeped it away. "I don't sense any youki around here, so we're safe for now, though I'm not sure how anyone could have gotten in here so easily."  
  
Chunzhu closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "That is good. So there will not be a fight for now." Remembering fights, she looked off into the horizon, thinking of Kurama and Kushiyè. She was surprised to see two figures walking up to the temple. She recognized who they were immediately. "Kurama! Kushiyè!" she ran over to them. "Well? How did it go?" she started to walk alongside them.  
  
Before anyone could answer, Yukina mistakenly interrupted. "It's wonderful meeting you, Kushiyè." She gave a short bow. "Zhu-san kept talking about you... and Kurama. WOuld you like to come inside? We can talk about it over a small meal or tea, maybe?"  
  
Chunzhu beamed. "Yes, that would be excellent." She clapped her hands together and walked inside, followed by everyone else.  
  
* * * *  
  
"...and after I gave him some 'Rope Burn'," Kushiyè paused during her explaination and smiled at Kurama when she used his joke. "I managed to defeat Yousorai and get..." She smiled and handed the Thunder Gem to Chunzhu. It was white-yellow, and the inside of it looked like a lightning storm, full of power.  
  
Chunzhu's face lit up when she saw it, and she immediately took it, careful to not let it fall down. She clasped it in her hand, put it to her heart, and the gem stone vanished. Something told everyone they shouldn't ask how she did that. "What about Yousorai?" She asked.  
  
"It's most likely that he was killed by the others. He lost an Elemental Gem Stone, and Yousobi doesn't seem to be a merciful person." Kurama guessed.  
  
"Most of you are still hurt." Genkai observed. "You should stay here." she suggested.  
  
Kushiyè shook her head in refusal. "I'd rather go back to the Youkai Mori, thank you." she explained quickly before exiting.  
  
Hiei also seemed to want to go to his own place outdoors as well. Without a word, he also left.  
  
"Ano..." Chunzhu began. "As a kitsune, religion is one of my weaknesses. I am not sure what I should do about that."  
  
"I'll see what I can do." Genkai offered. "Perhaps a wall of reiki...?"  
  
Chunzhu shook her head. "Oh, you really should not. I will figure out a way to handle it." She sighed. "Though I lack the ability to perform kitsune magic..."  
  
"You should be fine though." Kuwabara thought, a little confused. "Kurama stays here all the time and..." he trailed off when he saw that Kurama was galring warningly at him.  
  
"I'm fine since I was reborn human." He explained quietly and quickly to him.  
  
"What's that?" Chunzhu looked up from her trance of thought.  
  
"Um..." Kurmaa said the first thing he thought of. "Were'nt you reborn human? You should be fine then."  
  
Chunzhu laughed. "Ha? This? It is but an illusion."  
  
Yusuke looked interested. "You can do illusions?"  
  
She sighed, wondering how to explain it. "No, but you can say I have help." She felt the reiki barrier that went over her heard spark up as she said this, but nobody seemed to notice.  
  
"Oh, you said you couldn't do kitsune magic..." Yusuke remembered. "Well don't worry about it. I don't think Kura-" He stopped there when he caught another glare coming from Kurama.  
  
This time Chunzhu wasn't paying attention. Her concentration was focused on keepin the theistic energy away from her. Then, a white set of fox ears appeared on her head, followed by white highlights taht appeared through her hair. Her eyes snapped open to realize that everyone was laughing at her.  
  
"Suishori..." Kurama tugged gently at a large white ear.  
  
"Like I said, not good with this sort of thing at all..." She sighed, returning to her human form, and let out a little giggle as well.  
  
Kurama felt that sympathy again. Inari, why him? "Suishori? Would you like me to help you with your abilities?" he offered.  
  
"Thank you, but..." Chunzhu looked up at him. "I really do not want help with this. I should learn to solve this myself, ne?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind. You seem like you need it." He argued.  
  
Chunzhu thought for a moment. "May we all sleep in the same room? I might feel more secure that way." Everyone was surprised by this statement. Chunzhu didn't like the reaction, so she added. "In seperate futons."  
  
Yusuke let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God."  
  
"Good. Then we've compromised." Chunzhu cheered.  
  
"Perhaps we should pair the two kitsune together." Genkai muttered to Yusuke and Kuwabara, a sly smile on her wrinkled face.  
  
"Baasan..." Yusuke gasped.  
  
"...was that a joke?" Kuwabara finished, stifling a laugh.  
  
She only smirked. "Just help fix everything up." she ordered.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kushiyè and Hiei had returned the next morning, joining the others seated in a sloppy order having breakfast. Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed now every time they saw Genkai, Chunzhu, or Kurama, recalling the joke.  
  
"So," Kushiyè began. "How was your night? How did you handle the religion?"  
  
"I was fine." Chunzhu replied. "I managed to deflect most of it with reiki."  
  
"Most?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
She nodded. "The rest of it... Kurama helped me with."  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara started laughing again.  
  
"What's wrong with them?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
Hiei glared. "I hope they're not implying..."  
  
Genkai interrupted. "Don't even mention that." She regretted the joke she had made when she had realized that they would be monitering them all night, keeping her up as well.  
  
"Well, we should be going to school now." Kurama announced, walking from another room.  
  
"Oh..." Chunzhu sighed.  
  
"I'll pass." Yusuke said nonchalantly.  
  
"Lucky!" She cried. "Then I will stay here as well."  
  
"No you won't." Kurama argued, taking her by the hand and leading her out.  
  
"Next time maybe I-" Chunzhu tried to tell them, getting cut off by the closing of the doors.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kurama and Chunzhu, strangely, didn't return until it was dark. Everyone was still up, sitting on the floor, strangely silent and by candlelight.  
  
Hiei turned to them and said. "We've just sensed a youkai around the temple. A strong one. We have to be ready at any moment."  
  
Right after he said that, a sudden chill entered the room, and icicles were formed upon the ceiling rafters.  
  
Right after the two sat down, Kuwabara turned to Yukina, suspecting her, as the ice demon, being resposible for the freezing of the room.  
  
"Yukina-san, why did you freeze the room?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"I... I didn't." Yukina responded slowly.  
  
Silence enveloped the room after she said that. Everyone's senses were to the most acute, and sure enough, a soft, muffled giggle was heard in the center of the room and there stood Yousokaze, who then sat down and faced Chunzhu.  
  
"Suishori, surely you would understand when I say 'Don't. Interfere. Anymore.'" The message she recited from her grass message was said with malice, very unfitting for an apparently young girl. "Instead of listening, however, you and these yarro just ignored the warning and kept looking for them. Suishori, now it is time to test your fighting skills with the ultimate test! You will have to defeat the wind, the very element that surrounds you this very moment!"  
  
I have not really fought a battle before...but I have to beat her anyway. Chunzhu thought to herself. "Fine..." She muttered quietly. She followed Yousokaze outside.  
  
Kushiyè's ears pricked up at the hearing of Chunzhu's response, and followed the two outside. "Zhu! Hey, are you sure you can take her?" She looked uncertainly at her.  
  
Chunzhu put on a forced smile and paused. "Ummm...yeah...maybe...No, but I am going to try." She answered sweetly as she closed her eyes and braced herself.  
  
Kushiyè knew how fragile Chunzhu was, that she couldn't possibly win, but even though those doubts flew into her mind, Kushiyè believed that maybe she could beat this demon.  
  
"You might want to stop her before she kills herself! She definitely is not strong enough to beat me!" The wind demon Yousokaze declared.  
  
Maybe she is right. Maybe I cannot win. Chunzhu thought.  
  
Kushiyè frowned at her thought. "Zhu, did you forget I could read minds? Of course you can win. She's just trying to discourage you. Don't you dare listen to her!" Kushiyè encouraged her best friend not to be scared.  
  
"Huh?" Chunzhu looked at her friend in surprise. "But Kushiyè, you know how weak I am." She started.  
  
"Really? Guess I don't." Kushiè joked.  
  
Yousokaze sighed impatiently. "Really, could we start fighting now? You're making me sick with all this sweet talk." The wind maiden complained.  
  
"Right!" Chunzhu said confidently as Yousokaze started to charge at her.  
  
"Zhu! Move now!" Kushiyè warned.  
  
"Goodbye, guardian! Kaze Kamisori!" Yousokaze called as her hand started to circle around rapidly, and a tornado resulted that shot razors in all directions.  
  
"Zhu!" Kushiyè got worried because she knew when Chunzhu got scared, she froze up stilly.  
  
Chunzhu put on a determined face. "I can win! I know I can!" Chunzhu said to herself.  
  
Yes! She's finally encouraging herself! Kushiyè thought. "You're going to die today, Yousokaze! Zhu, figure out her power!" Kushiyè declared as she stupidly walked onto the battlefield next to her best friend.  
  
"Get out of here, you baka!" Chunzhu yelled to get her out of this fight.  
  
"Too late! Okami, you're dead!" Tornadoes started to circle around Yousokaze's arm. "Kaze Kamisori!" She yelled again. Kushiyè couldn't move. She was too scared to even talk.  
  
"Kushiyè you baka! Get away... move!" Chunzhu pushed Kushiyè out of the way, and was hit directly by the razor wind in her right arm, and sprawled onto the ground. Some razors managed to scrape against Kushiyè, but Chunzhu had taken the full hit.  
  
"Zhu!" Kushiyè yelled as she ran to check on her friend. "Zhu!"  
  
The Reikai Tantei showed up when they heard the yelling. Everyone noticed Chunzhu and her injury first.  
  
Hiei closed his eyes in frustration. "The beginning of the fight and she was stupid enough to already get hurt.  
  
Kushiyè didn't hear that rude remark. "Zhu! Oh, Zhu, are you okay? Please wake up!"  
  
"Ow." Chunzhu opened her eyes and rose to her feet. Red blood was dripping fastly onto the ground from her arm.  
  
"Oh no, your arm is bleeding a lot. Can you still fight?" Kushiyè asked worridly.  
  
Chunzhu smiled. "Sou, I can. Do not worry about me." Chunzhu walked toward Yousokaze, and recalled the injuries they had both recieved. Making her get hurt... over someone else none the less! "You... You heartless jerk. I shall not let you escape. Today you will perish." Chunzhu's eyes turned a cold ice blue and started glowing. This was probably the only way to beat her...  
  
"Kushiyè!" Hiei ran over to Kushiyè, who was badly scratched and extremely shocked. She tried moving, but the scratches all over her stinged with pain. "Ouch."  
  
"Daijobou ka?" Hiei asked as he helped her up.  
  
Kushiyè glared. "Get off me you pervert." she then felt a rise of power and turned her attention to the fight. "Zhu! Impossible. That's...that's Suishori-sama's power." Kushiyè threw Hiei off her.  
  
Impossible... Before her power wasn't at all impressive, but now that she and her friend got hurt, she has unlocked the secret of her power. The wind maiden thought to herself as Chunzhu moved closer to the wind demon, eyes still glowing, her hair now white, and white ears starting to come out of her head. Her five white tails whipped around in the air. She couldn't waste too much energy on her old form... She really needed all she had... She also needed that old weapon of hers...  
  
Yousokaze looked nervous for a second and then said to Suishori. "Dammit! What's wrong with you?! YOu're all still alive! I didn't kill anyone!" She yelled from the sky. "Yet..." She muttered to herself.  
  
Suishori looked up in the sky in thought. "I did overreact...but this is my first fight...and it's too late to do anything now." She smiled at the wind demon and clasped her hands. "Let us begin, yes?"  
  
Hiei helped Kushiyè as they quickly exited the battle.  
  
"So that's Suishori then?" Kurama asked Kushiyè.  
  
They both looked over. The fighting still hadn't begun. "I guess so..." Kushiyè replied. "I've never seen her in this form either."  
  
Kurama sweatdropped. "And you've been friends for a long time...?"  
  
Kushiyè nodded. "Years." And then turned her expression serious as she looked toward the battle. Suishori now had something that looked like a sheath for a sword on. She drew two crossed crescent-shaped blades from it and held one in each arm by the handles it provided. The blades were parallel to her arms, and went all the way up to her elbows. Engraved on one was kanji that read 'Kesshou Namida', or Crystal Tears, and on the other was 'Urei Zaiten', Sorrow in Heaven.  
  
Yousokaze smiled widely, showing her fangs. "Well, you still can't beat me, no matter what other tricks you might have. Your fighting class is still a B, but mine's an S." She closed her eyes in boastful happiness. "Moreover, you will never be able to get me if I just go high into the air!"  
  
Suishori closed her eyes softly and smiled a little. She nodded her head. "It is true you can fly, but as for the fighting classificaion, only demons bother. It is an inner strength that cannot be glassified that decides winning."  
  
The wind youkai put on a confused face. "If fighting classification is for demons, shouldn't you be fine with it? After all, you're a demon, ne?"  
  
Suishori glared at her. "No." She crouched down. "Demons are evil."  
  
Yousokaze was surprised when Suishori performed an intricate tumbling/jumping move, but she managed to dodge it, and instead the blade scraped against a tree, and the resulting friction made it scrape her own arm. A ball of energy came out of her as it happened, which Suishori took great care to keep safe.  
  
Yousokaze laughed. "You've just been hurt by your own weapon!"  
  
"Just a flesh wound." Suishori replied, blowing on it a little in an attempt for the blood to clot quicker. She carefully hung the ball of energy in the air in front of her, and then left it for a while to take another careful swing at her. The fighting moves looked so elegant and flowing, like she were flying...  
  
Kushiyè gasped. "Did you see that last move? She seemed as if she were soaring. It appears to be a form of martial arts... But she would have told me, right?"  
  
"I'm not sure." Kurama answered. "But that style... I think it's supposed to be Wind Dance. Supposedly, it's exclusive to a single village... Though I can't remember which one."  
  
Zhu is keeping things from me then... Kushiyè thought sadly.  
  
Hiei tapped her shoulder. "Pay attention. It's about to get interesting."  
  
Kushiyè turned her head to the fight, and was surprised to see how much power Suishori was using.  
  
Suishori raced over to Yousokaze, and when inches away from her, struck her in the stomach with the inside of a crescent-shaped blade. A blast of mauve colored ki came from the impact.  
  
Yousokaze crashed into a tree, the impact causing her to pummel, knocking up some of the dirt on the ground and snapping some of its weaker twigs. Yousokaze got up from the mess, picked some leaves from her hair, and, with a noticable but small gash in her stomach, smiled.  
  
"Maybe this will be fun!" She cried optomistically, seeing that Suishori knew something about fighting. She raised her arm high, and forcefully drew it down. A storm of giant icicles were brought down, surrounding Suishori.  
  
"Oh no, I can't see anything!" Kushiyè complained.  
  
"Try looking like this." Yusuke squinted his eyes. "You can make out a very blurry picture."  
  
Kushiyè sighed and looked carefully, squinting, at the ice cage.  
  
Yousokaze smiled proudly and announced. "As you know, I also control ice and snow as well as wind. Nice, isn't it?"  
  
Suishori sighed as her attempts to shatter the ice with her blades were made futile. "And now I am stuck. Just come and defeat me!" She called. She really hadn't given up, although the chances of her winning looked hopeless.  
  
Yousokaze started twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Sorry, I'm claustrophobic. Can't stay in one place too long...a wanderer or something."  
  
"Are you giving up?" Suishori asked.  
  
"Zhu...I mean Suishori you baka! She's going to attack you from long-distance!" Kushiyè called out.  
  
"Ding ding ding! That's correct!" The wind maiden mocked as she flew up into the sky.  
  
"Kushiyè, can you please get me out of here?" Suishori called.  
  
Kushiyè sighed. "Well on normal circumstances I would, but," She held up her arm. "the arm I use to hold my rope is kind of injured."  
  
"But my life is at stake!" Suishori cried.  
  
"Want me to use fire?" Hiei offered.  
  
"No! You might miss!" Kushiyè argued.  
  
Hiei glared at her. "Well, thank you for the compliment." He said sarcastically. She hadn't even seen him fight!  
  
The conversation stopped when they heard something fast approaching from the sky. It was Yousokaze, wind tunnels full of sharp razors on both arms.  
  
She stopped in midair and chucked the tornadoes straight into the ice cage, the immediate stop making them shoot at it faster. The wind blew away the ice like paper, but both landed inside the area where Suishori was.  
  
There was a humongous cloud of dust, but Yousokaze swet her hand, a strong blast of wind escorting it, and all the dust and dirt in her area was blown away to the Reikai Tantei. She laughed at them when they started couching, but the dust cleared in an instant, and everyone saw the condition of Suishori.  
  
There were fresh slashes all over her, the fine cuts made by the razor sharp winds themselves. As the remaints of the tornadoes' wind died away softly, her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, her shins getting soaked in a small pool of blood that was forming on the ground. She stumbled back onto her own feet, as if ready to fall again.  
  
Yousokaze laughed. "Now you can't even stand up! You should just quit!"  
  
Kushiyè stood up for Suishori. "Don't listen to her! Yes, I can see you're hurt, but Genkai can heal you. Just kick her ass!" She yelled.  
  
Suishori nodded at Kushiyè, and turned to Yousokaze. "Although I do not believe in fighting classification, I know you are not an S-class youkai."  
  
Yousokaze glared. "What are you talking about?! I am so!"  
  
"If you were, the Kaze Kamisori would have killed me!" Suishori snapped back.  
  
Yousokaze looked smeechless for a moment. Eyes focused angrily on her, she said. "Once I kill you, I will be one!"  
  
Suishori shook her head and gave a soft giggle, as if there was a little girl's mind inside a centuries-old body. "You are so young... but already all you want is power? You are a good person on the outside, are you not?"  
  
Yousokaze folded her arms. "What is that supposed to mean?! On the inside, everyone wants power!"  
  
Suishori prepared her elbow blades. "Not me." She crossed her arms, and spun around once to gather energy and concentration. She held the blades in front of her, and shards of charged mauve energy flew from them as she made the cuts herself through the air.  
  
Yousokaze put her arms in front of her. "The Hitotoki Tatakikowasu technique?! Why are you so determined?! Kaze Kamisori!" Tornadoes formed around her arms, and she quickly tossed them.  
  
The shattered energy moved easily through the wind, and hit Yousokaze. Every shard, sped up by the wind, had made either a cracking or crunching noise when it slammed into her, and she immediately fell, ironically, painlessly, but helplessly as well. As if she were a rag doll.  
  
For Suishori, however, it was hurtful. The tunnels of wind had landed in a spot right next to her, which made the razor-like gusts swirl all around, once again cutting finer than a scalpel, and drawing even more blood. Suishori had fallen over, but she slowly got up, a strained but determined smile still there, and began a slow limp near Yousokaze, and slumped down next to her.  
  
Yousokaze looked worried. "Don't kill me! Kaze Kamisori!" She held up the only arm that hadn't been hit by the Hitotoki Tatakikowasu, but nothing happened.  
  
Suishori tilted her head. "My aim was not exact. That blast was supposed to completely paralyze you, but you can still speak and move an arm."  
  
Yousokaze clenched the hand into a fist and pounded the ground as hard as possible, leaving a shallow but definite mark into the ground. "Well all my energy is gone, and I still can't move anything but this stupid arm!"  
  
Suishori shrugged. "It is a good start for me." She reached over to the Elemental Gem Stone of Wind that Yousokaze wore around her neck.  
  
Yousokaze realized what she was doing at the last moment. She quickly grabbed onto Suishori's wrist. "I don't need...any energy to...defeat you!" She threatened, voice strained by the tightening of her grip onto Suishori's arm, claws peircing the pale, delicate skin.  
  
Suishori winced from pain, but kept trying to get it. She finally grabbed the gem stone, ripped it from the chain it was attached to, clasped it into her hand, and made it dissapear.  
  
Yousokaze closed her eyes for a second and opened them again. "Huh?" She got up, and was now able to move fully. "What's happened?"  
  
Kushiyè's eyes widened. "Oh, I think I found out what's wrong with the Wind Maiden!"  
  
Yusuke looked over. "What? Amnesia?"  
  
"No, Suishori will explain in a moment." Kurama said. He was right, because then Yousokaze asked Suishori what had happened.  
  
She said. "Yousobi controlled you through the Elemental Gem Stone of Wind. You have just made an attempt to kill those who are innocent." Her voice was weak sounding, and her speech was filled with breaks and gaps. "I have a question. Why did you fight with such pride and determination?"   
  
"Why..." Yousokaze pondered with a finger on her chin. "Because I don't want to dissapoint everyone else. Just because I'm the youngest and smallest, they thought I couldn't do anything. I fight...for their respect." She gave her head a sure nod. "But after the capture of the Elemental Gem Stones, everyone was telling me I was acting weird. I picked fights indiscriminately, and even wanted to kill. I think you were right. I was Yousobi's puppet."  
  
Suishori sweatdropped. "I am scared of puppets."  
  
Yousokaze ignored that. "But why did you fight me? You're not a violent person, are you?" She eyed her carefully.  
  
Suishori shook her head. "I am not violent, but I am ready to fight anyone who causes harm to me. I protect myself, and will not be pushed around, and seek revenge for..." She couldn't finish. It brought back too many memories. "Never mind. During these times, one can only care about themselves. One day, hopefully, I'll be free to do as I wish...but I am probably going to get punished for this." She winced as another wave of pain swept over her, stinging her cuts. Why did injuries have to burn so much?  
  
Yousokaze noticed all the blood everywhere, coming from the petite fox girl, and gasped. "I did that, didn't I?!" She started to run, but Yousobi appeared in front of her.  
  
"Oh, you coward! And just when I've finally permitte you into this alliance." He prepared a fireball in his hand. "Useless, like I always believed!" He threw it at her, but she narrowly dodged it by jumping into the sky.  
  
"Shit..." Yousobi cursed from under his breath. He turned his attention to a blank spot next to him and yelled. "Yousokawa! Come here, now!"   
  
She appeared immediately from a swirl of fresh water on the ground. "Yes?"  
  
He pointed at Yousokaze and commanded. "Kill that brat this instant!"   
  
Yousokawa gasped. "Please reconsider sir! She's just a small girl-"  
  
"DO IT!" He bellowed, his voice seeming to shake the trees in fright and surprise.  
  
Yousokawa cringed and twirled a small curl around her index finger. "Right." She responded fearfully, being the subordinate. She gathered some black water into her hand, and shot it into the sky. "Ankoku Taiga!" It hit Yousokaze directly.  
  
Yousobi smiled sadistically. "Very nice. Your death move..."  
  
As Yousokaze's lifeless body thunked to the ground, an outline of her rose from her corpse as Yousokawa picked it up respectfully. Her spirit rose into the sky, as the most spiritually aware witnesses saw.  
  
"Reikai?!" Yousobi growled. "She's supposed to go to hell!"  
  
Yousokawa glared at him in a telling-off fashion. "She just wasn't evil enough."  
  
Yousobi scowled at the surprised Reikai Tantei. "Damn you all!" He shouted, and he and Yousokawa dissapeared in bursts of their respective elements.  
  
After taking a minute to recover ffrom the surprising scenario, Kushiyè said. "Finally, we beat that Wind Maiden..." Her statement echoed through the silence of the battlefield.  
  
"Un..."  
  
Everyone turned to see Chunzhu, although ki and blood where lost, she managed to return to her human form, not wanting to be a fox right now. She had reminded herself of the nightmare-like events of that one fateful day...and also of how hopeless it was to have someone else to care about besides herself. Love...that word she always had feared...  
  
They all rushed over to her. Kushiyè looked worried. "Zhu, are you okay?"  
  
Chunzhu's response was falling to the ground. "I...think I will...be fine. Itai..." Chunzhu tried to rise to her feet.  
  
Kushiyè stopped her. "Please, let me get you over to the temple."  
  
Chunzhu rose up. "Maybe...okay."  
  
"Come sheila." Kushiyè grabbed Chunzhu and winced from the use of her arms.  
  
Chunzhu looked over at her. "Kushiyè...are you...okay?"  
  
Kushiyè smiled. "Sou, just tired."  
  
"Same thing over and over again. You say that...all...the time..." Chunzhu then smiled, closed her eyes softly, and fell into a well deserved slumber.  
  
"Zhu!" Yusuke yelled, trying to wake her up.  
  
"Don't worry Yusuke, she's asleep. Let's get her over to Genkai." The very small girl tried lifting her, but Chunzhu was just too much of a burden. Kushiyè looked around. "Kurama, help me carry her."  
  
"Fine..." He muttered, going over to help.  
  
Kushiyè tilted her head. "What's wrong? Isn't Zhu your friend?"  
  
"Friendships take time. Kurama pointed out, aiding her anyway, despite his statement.  
  
Unfortunately, as they all went inside, no one noticed the stealthy figure staring at them from a thick tuft of leaves. 


	4. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 4

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #4-Shuunenbukai Ninja Kankeishi! Shitsumei no Kushiyè  
  
- A Vengeful Ninja Relative! Kushiyè's Eyesight is Lost -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
Chunzhu's eyes slowly batted open as she awakened the next morning. She heard distant voices, and sat up from the futon she laid on.  
  
As Kurama passed by the door of the room she was in, he peeked in and smiled. "Oh good, you're up." He walked inside. "How are you feeling?"  
  
Chunzhu smiled. He was asking her that? The question seemed so foreign when asked to her. She gave her best smile. "I am fine..." She paused to look at how bandaged up she was. "Unless my injuries want to speak for themselves."  
  
Hiei looked in. "Can we remove the ones on her arms?"  
  
"Why would you want to do that?" Chunzhu asked, looking at him with her dark eyes.  
  
He rolled up a sleeve to show his own bandages. "I just feel plagerized," he answered dully, pulling his sleeve back down.  
  
"Oh..." Chunzhu wondered what was wrong with his arm, but she still didn't want to be guilty of 'plagiarism', so she began taking them off. With all of them removed, she was surprised to see her wounds were completely gone, without even a scar. How did that happen...? Someone here probably had healing powers.  
  
Chunzhu set aside the red-brown stained strips aside and turned to Kurama. "Why does Hie-" She ceased in mid-sentence, thinking of it too rude of a question. "Where is my aoku?" She said instead. It was a little off topic, but it was a lot less ruder. She really did want to know where it was though.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm fixing it for you. It was ripped and stained with blood. It should be finished soon."  
  
The second surprise of the day. Did he actually say he'd fix it for her...? "Oh, good. Thanks." Chunzhu replied hastily, "But why would you-"  
  
Kushiyè interrupted before she could finish. "G'day Zhu! Hang on, I'll get you something to eat and then you can go for a walk with us."  
  
Kurama faced the door. "If you're not too tired, that is."  
  
Chunzhu shook her head. "Of course not. See? I am up and ready now."  
  
Kushiyè smiled. "Good. Maybe now you're finally becoming stronger."  
  
Kurama left and called back to her. "I'll be getting you a fresh set of clothes then!"   
  
"We'll be right back, Zhu," Kushiyè said before also leaving.  
  
Hiei turned towards the window. "If anyone asks, I'll be waiting outside," he said to Chunzhu before jumping out.  
  
"Alright..." Chunzhu muttered to herself. All these people around her...felta little warming or reassuring. It was strange, but perhaps she was beginning to get used to, and even like it.  
  
* * * *  
  
It was a scarce short time of peace in the Youkai Mori. The Reikai Tantei, Kushiyè, and Chunzhu were taking a pleasant stroll, relaxed, but still keeping a casual eye out for anything hostile that might be out there. As they passed through the heavy shadow of a large, old tree, a laugh of absolute evil broke the peace, although only demons with extremely sensitive hearing were able to hear the distant shout, and still tell it was different somehow. It was not only full of evil, but vengance and a thirst for power.  
  
"Huh?" Kushiyè stopped immediately when she heard the laugh.  
  
"What's wrong, Kushiyè?" Hiei asked with a questioning look upon his face.  
  
"Nothing. I...just...thought...I heard something," Kushiyè answered, listening for it again.  
  
"Well then, let's continue," Kurama insisted, "Shall we?"  
  
"Right. Sorry."  
  
Hiei gave her an encouraging look, "Don't be."  
  
"Oi Kuwabara, check it out. Hiei's flirting with Kushiyè," Yusuke whispered to the blue-clad lug, mistaking his comment as an advancing remark.  
  
"Are you serious?!" Kuwabara said loudly, and then smirked slyly, "Well, come to think of it, he is always trying to get close to her if you've noticed," he announced stupidly, adding emphasised observations like you would add wood to a fire. Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged glances and then started cracking up.  
  
Hiei started getting annoyed with the laughter, "Okay guys, would you please shut u-"  
  
"Look out, Hiei! Jump!" Kushiyè warned, allowing Hiei to leap away just as a set of daggers were lodged into a thick tree trunk.  
  
"What the...?!" Hiei looked very surprised as another round of shuriken throwing knives were just chucked at him. Luckily, they narrowly missed him, and instead joined the other shuriken on the tree trunk.  
  
The laughter heard before by Kushiyè rang out again, extremely closer this time and audible to everyone, "Damn. I missed the right target. Kushiyè, you were the one I was after." His deep voice hissed like that of a snake's.  
  
"What? Why...me?" Kushiyè said, her sweet, Australian-accented articulation clashing with the demon's snake voice.  
  
"Because you killed my brother."  
  
"What? I didn't kill anybody!" Kushiyè argued.  
  
"Oh, you mena you didn't kill Yousorai." His voice was now heavy with sarcastic belief.  
  
"You...you mean Yousorai was your brother?"  
  
"Yes, and now you die!!" He raised his arms above him, and light gathered itself into his open hands, "Hoshokonoako Ha!" he shouted, and the light shot straight at Kushiyè. She could only stay still in hsock while the bright light flashed towards her.  
  
When it hit her, she simply fainted. No cuts, no blood, just falling down as if it were merely shock that had made her collapse.  
  
"No Kushiyè!" Hiei yelled. He ran over to help her.  
  
"Aiyaa, again?" Chunzhu commented, "Is she alright?" She seemed to be okay, "Inari-sama..." Her use of the prase 'My god...'. Chunzhu muttered to herself in Chinese, relatively calm.  
  
The demon smiled at the chaos everyone else had created checking on her. "Now I bid you all sayonara." And he disappeared, not even leaving his name alone.  
  
"Aiyaa, please Kushiyè. Wake up. Please awaken, for the love of Inari-sama and these people..." Chunzhu muttered to herself in Chinese. She was showing minimum worry, a confident smile on. Those others seemed to care a lot for the okami...but why? They had only just met, and she didn't owe them anything, right? So why care if she survived or not?  
  
"Come on, let's get her to Genkai's temple," Hiei said as he lifted her onto his back.  
  
"Uh, Hiei, her kimono." Kurama saw it getting flipped up as she was hoisted up. "Perhaps Suishori should carry her," he suggested, ignoring the lazy 'I don't want to. I go through enough already.' look on Chunzhu's face.  
  
"Are you calling me hentai?" Hiei inquired icily, making Kurama back away.  
  
"No, but really..."  
  
"Fine." Hiei dumped Kushiyè into Chunzhu's arms. "Hn. Gaylord," he muttered to Kurama. Chunzhu raised an eyebrow curiously, but stopped when Kurama glared at her.  
  
"Wath it Hiei, don't get me angry," Kurama said in a treatening tone.  
  
Hiei glared at him, "Stop arguing. Let's hurry before, you know..." It seemed that Hiei wanted to keep away from metnioning the frail subject of death.  
  
Chunzhu cut in, Right, let us hurry." Her eyes shifted to meet Kurama's apologetically. She didn't mean to make any suspicions, but she couldn't help it. Would he be angry at her? She almost dropped Kushiyè just thinking about going through any more hate...  
  
* * * *  
  
"Well it's a good thing you got here in time, though I'm sorry I don't know her condition," Genkai explained. The group had reached her temple a while ago.  
  
Yukina, who was looking after Kushiyè in the next room, walked in to announce, "Genkai, come now. It's Kushiyè!"  
  
"Huh? What's wrong?" Hiei asked fussily.  
  
"She's waking up," Yukina said.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Huh? Where am I? Zhu! Hiei! Kurama!" Kushiyè finally opened her eyes to see...black nothingness?  
  
Yukina gasped, "Oh no."  
  
"Hm? What is wrong?" Chunzhu looked around, confused.  
  
Yukina pointed to Kushiyè's face, "Guys, take a look at her eyes. See? She's blind."  
  
"What?!" everyone gapsed, sans Hiei. He was too shocked to even move.  
  
"Will she be alright? Tell me," Chunzhu requested, a hint of worry for the younger okami showing.  
  
"I-I don't know. Sorry Zhu, this could be temporary or permanant," Yukina said sadly.  
  
"Oh..." Chunzhu clapsed her hands. "Does anybody have a possible reason why everyone is attacking Kushiyè?" She looked down at her folded hands. "What could she have done to make them hate her so much?"  
  
Everyone thought for a minute, and then Genkai spoke up, "Maybe they're after you as well."  
  
"That makes sense," Kurama agreed, "First, she was brainwashed in order to get the gem stones from you. Now, they've blinded her, but maybe not just for revenge. Is her eyesight any concern to you, Suishori?"  
  
Chunzhu hesitated to answer before nodding, "I suppose she always has looked out for me. Especially in the Youkai Mori. She always had better eyesight than I did." She blinked her large dark eyes, reminiscing, "She actually did save my life a few times from demons."  
  
"So perhaps they knew this, and blinded her in hopes of you getting killed," Kurama suggested.  
  
"But that is unfair!" Chunzhu objected, "Why can they not just attack me directly, and not hurt anyone else? I mean, I want to be faced directly, not manipulated and toyed with."  
  
Kushiyè banged the wall lightly to get everyone's attention, "Zhu, calm down. It's not like I died," she smiled, in hopes of cheering her up, "In fact, I can feel my other senses getting stronger."  
  
Yusuke joined in, "And you can just leave all the visual stuff to the Reikai Tantei. Don't forget, we were hired to help."  
  
Chunzhu nodded, "Great. One day, I will make sure to repay all of you greatly."  
  
Kushiyè shook her head, "You shouldn't bother. After all, it's their job."  
  
"Actually, it's forced labor, since you get paid if you have a job," Hiei said with a smirk.  
  
All of a sudden, an evil, familiar laugh was heard, and the whole temple became silent. Their surroundings became pitch black as a figure appeared, his aura the only light.  
  
"Who the hell are you?!" Hiei snapped as he ran in front of Kushiyè to make sure no harm would come to her.  
  
"You've met me earlier. My name is Yousoyama, a chimi."  
  
"Did you blind Kushiyè to get to me?" Chunzhu galled out straightforwardly.  
  
"I'm sorry to say no. I have met other youkai interested in you, but all I want is Kushiyè," he laughed again as Chunzhu gasped.  
  
"What?! But why her and not me?" she cried. Yousoyama stepped closer to Kushiyè, not answering.  
  
Hiei ran to the chimi, who at thirteen feet, towered over him. "Stay away from her!" Hiei warned. Yousoyama knocked him against the wooden temple walls, and Hiei fell unconscious.  
  
"Is it me, or has Hiei been knocked out a lot lately?" Yusuke said with a sweatdrop, quickly reverting back to the danget situation when he heard Kushiyè's cries of pain, and saw Yousoyama with his serpentine tail wrapped tightly around her neck.  
  
"Stop!" Chunzhu cried, startling the demon out of letting her go, but continuing after a second, "I said stop now! She will die like that!" Chunzhu repeated, being too late. Kushiyè, like Hiei, fell motionless.  
  
"Too wounded to stay awake for that. Hn, I must have hit her pretty hard with that light blast," Yousoyama laughed as he started to remove Kushiyè's headband, "Here is why we were after Kushiyè. Look Suishori, you'll remember."  
  
Chunzhu walked over to Kushiyè and gasped, "What?! I never knew she had that! That is the prized triforce. It acts as a power focus for the Elemental Gem Stones. How did she get that?" she didn't believe Kushiyè had such a powerful item. She didn't want to believe it, either.  
  
"She stole it from you so long ago, and I'm here to take it back. We let her off easy. She wanted to leave the alliance, so we let her go. We trusted her, but she took the triforce before she left."  
  
"KUshiyè would not do that! You must have forced her into your group. Give it back now," Chunzhu demanded as he started to take the triforce out of Kushiyè's forehead. Although KUshiyè yelled in pain, it was difficult to remove. Chunzhu grabbed Yousoyama's wrist in an attempt to stop him, but he flung her against the wall, not even having the courtesy to hold back his strength.  
  
"Suishori!" Kurama ran to check on Chunzhu.  
  
"No, Kushiyè..." Chunzhu whispered under her breath, trying to get up and ignore the pain that seared up and down her back.  
  
Yosuoyama laughed and disappeared holding Kushiyè, finding himself unable to remove the triforce.  
  
Just before he left, Hiei woke up and saw them disappear. "Kushiyè! Damn you, Yousoyama. You'll pay. I'll kill you. I swear I will!" Hiei slammed the ground with his hand in a tihgt fist.  
  
"No, Kushiyè..." Chunzhu repeated quietly. How could Kushiyè do something that made her seem so weak? There wasn't an excuse for allowing herself to be kidnapped! "She cannot die."  
  
"Don't worry, she won't. I will not allow it. NO one will lay a hand on Kushiyè while I'm around, so don't start to cry," Hiei encouraged with somewhat of a smile.  
  
"Who will fight him though?" Chunzhu questioned, "He seems too strong for any of us to beat."  
  
"I will. he took..."  
  
"Your...friend?" Chunzhu tried to finish for him.  
  
He nodded, too lost in his own thoughts to remark that he didn't need friends. "I'll destroy him!" he declared as everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"Uh, Hiei, she's our friend as well," Kurama said.  
  
"Get this straight: the chimi is mine!" Hiei announced as everyone threw down their heads and sweatdropped again.  
  
"You think he was paying attention?" Yusuke asked.  
  
Kuwabara and Kurama shook their heads, "Nope."  
  
Chunzhu turned to Hiei and bowed her head graciously, "Thank you, Hiei-san!" she said happily, which apparently surprised him, because he just stood there, wide eyed and speechless. Chunzhu was this happy becauseshe sensed an Elemental Gem Stone with him. Finding it would bring her antoher step closer to recovering what she had lost. It was absolutely wonderful having others willing to help, even if they cared more for Kushiyè than the gem stones.   
  
"We must save Kushiyè. Zhu, you should stay here," Yusuke ordered.  
  
Chunzhu shook her head, "No. I am coming."  
  
"That makes no sense," Kurama said, shaking his head. Apparently he had been thinking something through.  
  
"What does not?" Chunzhu asked, tilting her head.  
  
"I've heard of the triforce. It was coveted by many, demons and humans alike, but there was a requirement that only a pure-hearted royal prince could handle it," Kurama explained.  
  
Chunzhu thought about this for a second, "Oh, right...but if Kushiyè is not a prince, how can she possess the triforce?" she paused, "Actually, she is not even a boy...Nothing makes sense anymore..."  
  
Kuwabara smiled, "That's nothing to get upset about. Nothing ever makes sense for me."  
  
Everyone waited for Hiei to comment on Kuwabara's statement. Nothing. He didn't even blink.  
  
Yusuke leaned over and looked at Hiei, "Oi, Hiei! Are you still alive?"  
  
Hiei turned to everyone as Yusuke backed away saying, "Yep, I guess you are."  
  
"Surely one of you know where Yousoyama is," Hiei said, looking around. Nobody answered. They didn't know. Actually, not even Kuwabara could merely sense him.  
  
Watching from the window was a girl in a light blue kimono. She was listening intently with her pointed ears as she played with a long lock of golden hair. Her sapphire eyes were filled with indesicion of whether she should help them or not. After a moment of deciding, she quickly took out a piece of scrap paper and a pen from her kimono and wrote on it:  
  
I know where Yousoyama is. Meet me at noon tommorrow, the Autumn Equinox, at Hanesaki Botanical Gardens.  
  
-Yurinoki  
  
"My new name..." she said to herself while carefully writing the kanji, having just recieved it. She slipped it through the doors to the temple, and quickly flew away on her oar.  
  
"Hn?" Hiei heard the paper go through the door and flutter to the ground. He went over, picked it up, and read it, "Well, this si lucky," he said to himself after reading it.  
  
"What is?" Chunzhu asked as everyone crowded over.  
  
Hiei handed the paper to Chunzhu, who then passed it on to another person, and on it went in this order until everyone had seen it.  
  
"Should we trust this one?" Hiei wondered.  
  
Chunzhu nodded, "We do not have a choice. I doubt anyone else we know would be willing to take us to Yousoyama."  
  
* * * *  
  
The next day, Chunzhu could hardly sit through school. "Ku-, ano...Shuuichi?" she whispered during Literature class, almost forgetting what to call him at school, "Should we sneak out of school at noon? I do not think we should be late."  
  
Kurama shook his head in denial, seeing through her trick of getting out of school early, "They'll probably wait for us."  
  
Chunzhu looked out the window. The cherry blossoms were in their full autumn bloom, and the wind outside made the leaves of the other trees fall, creating a snowstorm-like effect. "But we should go. It is such a nice day," she begged quietly.  
  
"Cheer up. I have good news. Your aoku is repaired. I'll give it to you later, once I get it out of my locker," Kurama said.  
  
Chunzhu's expression brightened immediately. "Oh! Thank you! I did not think anybody could bother...it was such a mess! How talented! How generous!" she cried rapidly and estatically.  
  
She stopped immediately when she saw the sensei glaring at her and her classmates snickering.  
  
"Please settle down, Miss Chou," she sighed, writing something down in an official-looking book on her desk, then continuing her lesson.  
  
She looked down, still smiling, "As you know, I love that outfit very much. I was told my mother made it before she died," she whispered. He answered with a nod. Chunzhu was still fazed with surprise. Someone had actually done something for her...a favor, she believed it was called.  
  
* * * *  
  
Yurinoki was waiting impatiently, perched on a tree branch in Hanesaki Botanical Gardens. She looked at the clock embedded in the vine-covered brick tower in the center of the gardens. 3:30. She sighed, "They're late." Maybe they didn't take her advice...  
  
"Saa, (Well,) we're here! We're here!"  
  
Yurinoki looked down and saw Chunzhu along with the Reikai Tantei, all looking around in search of her.  
  
She floated down from the tree, "Pleased to see you again."  
  
Chunzhu turned and smiled, "There you are!"  
  
Kurama eyed her closely, "You seem oddly familiar."  
  
"And what did you mean by 'again'?" Hiei asked, leaning against a tree, arms folded.  
  
Chunzhu also looked carefully at her, "Hm..." she looked down in thought. As a strong gust of wind blew, it all came back to her, "Yousokaze!" she exclaimed in recognition.  
  
Yousokaze, or Yurinoki held up her hand to Chunzhu's face, "My name is now Yurinoki, ferrygirl for Reikai."  
  
"So Koenma gave you a job? I thought you were dead," Yusuke said.  
  
"I am," said Yurinoki bluntly, "But that's how I got this job."  
  
"Oh! Congradulations!" Chunzhu complimented, bowing her head a little.  
  
Yurinoki's eyes widened, "Aren't you mad? I injured you-"  
  
Hiei interrupted her, "It's nice you have an occupation, but...you said you knew where Yousoyama was."  
  
"Right, I did," Yurinoki nodded, "I forgot about that for a minute, sorry." She walked around, stopped, and knelt down in a blank area of grass, "I wanted to meet at Hanesaki for a reason," she said as she put her hand against the ground. A whirlwin appeared, which she turned into a portal, "This is the only way to get to Yousoyama," she explained.  
  
"Well let's not just stand around!" Kuwabara prepared to jump in.  
  
Yurinoki stuck out her arm in front of him. "If you jump, you will end up so high in the atmosphere the fall would kill you."  
  
"So what are we supposed to do?" Yusuke asked.  
  
Yurinoki made her oar appear, "Well, get on," she said.  
  
Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"That oar is awfully small," Chunzhu stated.  
  
Yurinoki shrugged, "Squish in."  
  
And so, eventually, they all crowded onto the oar in this order- Yurinoki at the head, then Chunzhu, Kurama, Hiei, and finally, Yusuke and Kuwabara, hanging onto the very tip.  
  
"Here we go!" she exclaimed, and they all managed to get through the quickly closing portal.  
  
They came out of the portal to be greeted with an amazing aerial view of a mountain range.  
  
Kushiyè, don't worry. We'll save you. Hiei thought.  
  
"Where the hell is Yousoyama?" Kuwabara made a tight fist with his free hand, ready to punch anything that agitated him.  
  
"Don't worry, we're almost there. See the tallest mountain? That's Yousoyama's hideaway." Yurinoki pointed to the greatest rock formation at the center of everything.  
  
Hiei, growing impatient and worried, stupidly jumped of, hundreds of meters from the ground.  
  
"Baka! You'll die from that distance!!!" Yurinoki called after him.  
  
While Yurinoki, Kuwabara, and Yusuke worried about the fire demon, Kurama sat there with a smile. "Don't wory about him. He'll be fine." Everybody stared at him with huge eyes.  
  
"what do you mean? Any one of us would die from that fall. Why would he not?" Chunzhu asked, a little confused.  
  
"Listen, Hiei should die from that, but the anger burning inside his soul will keep him alive. I mean, if you take away his," Kurama coughed the word 'love', "that would definitely get him enraged." Kurama explained.  
  
"You are truly optimistic, aren't you?" Yusuke aquired a nauseous look, "...and disguisting."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Yousoyama! Get out here!" Hiei ordered.  
  
******************  
  
BONUS  
  
******************  
  
Here's a little added bonus. It's a little about the names in Towa no Mirai. ^^  
  
Chou Chunzhu -- Forlorn Spring Pearl  
  
Suishori -- Holy Crystal, more or less. The 'ri' suffix is used at the end of religious words (Ikari-Anger of god; Hikari-Holy Light; Akari-Light of god, power of god; Inori-prayer; etc.) Also, any kitsune with 'ri' at the end of its name is more than likely a celestial kitsune/guardian kitsune.  
  
Towashi Kushiyé -- Everlasting Princess of Death. 'Ku' is I think Chinese pinyin that refers to royalty. I'm not sure what the 'yé' is for... It could be a Chinese end suffix, but there could be something else to it.  
  
Yurinoki -- Tulip Tree. Note: I noticed all ferrygirls in YuYu Hakusho have names refering to flowers, so I decided to give her one too. ^^  
  
Botan -- Peony; Boatman  
  
Kuwabara Kazuma -- Mulberry Field Peace and Truth   
  
Yukimura Keiko -- Snow Village Firefly Child  
  
Daiou Koenma -- Great King Little Enma  
  
Urameshi Yusuke -- Bay Rice Ghost Helper  
  
Jaganshi Hiei -- Evil Eye Master Flying Shadow  
  
Youko Kurama -- Demon Kept Horse  
  
Minamino Suuichi -- Southern Field Excellence First  
  
Genkai -- Grandma; Old Woman  
  
Yukina -- Snow Greens  
  
Now for a real quick pronunciation thing:  
  
A hyphen indicates that you say each syllable seperately, but when two syllables are stuck together, say them together. If you don't understand what I mean, nevermind. ^^;  
  
Chou Chunzhu - Choh Chahn Joo (When saying the zh- and ch- parts, bend your tongue backward. It feels awkward at first, but that's how it's done ^^;)  
  
Suishori - Soo-ee-sho-lee/ree  
  
Towashi Kushiyé - Toh-wah-shee Koo-shy-ee (pronouncing it in Japanese would be more like Koo-shee-yeh)  
  
Yurinoki - Yoolee/ree-noh-kee  
  
Botan - Boh-tahn  
  
Kuwabara Kazuma - Koo-wah-bah-lah/rah Kah-zoo-mah  
  
Yukimura Keiko - Yoo-kee-moo-lah/rah Kay-koh  
  
Daiou Koenma - Dye-oh Koh-ehn-mah  
  
Urameshi Yusuke - Oo-lah/rah-meh-shee Yoo-soo-kay (Not Yoo-lah/rah-meh-shee)  
  
Jaganshi Hiei - Jah-gahn-shee Hee-ay  
  
Youko Kurama - Yoh-koh Koo-lah/rah-mah  
  
Minamino Suuichi - Mee-nah-mee-noh Soo-ee-chee  
  
Genkai - Gehn-kah-ee  
  
Yukina - Yoo-kee-nah  
  
Another note, when saying the 'i' vowel in Japanese, although I wrote it as 'ee' it isn't as..umm..hard as that really. Think of every vowel sound as having a tiny 'h' behind it. 'Ee' sounds alot like 'Ih'   
  
If you wanna know how to pronounce other names I forgot to list, email us about it..We'll be happy to explain anything you don't fully understand :) 


	5. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 5

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gemstones: #5-Inai Toride no Yousoyama! San Ikutoori Nokosu Okami  
  
- Inside Yousoyama's Lair! Three Ways to Save a Wolf -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
"Okay everyone, I'm landing now, so hang on tight!" Yurinoki announced, pointing the tip of her oar into a nosedive, "Sorry, I need to rush because of Kushiyè and maybe even Hiei!" she called to the others, hanging on tight as they sped down, racing like a missle. The wind whipped furiously at their sides as they seemingly plummeted to the rocky ground.  
  
Just when it seemed as if they were about to crash, Yurinoki stopped short, causing everyone to jerk violently forward.   
  
"Is everybody okay?" she asked.  
  
"Yes!" they called, looking a little light headed. Yurinoki ignored their expressions, which didn't match at all with their positive verbal answers, and rushed to the mountain entrance.  
  
They all followed, and paused to look inside. It was very dark, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. It also had the disguisting stench of rotting corpses, which was no surprise, after seeing Yousoyama and his...ways. The cold air seemed to push them inside, immediately setting off a trap. A flurry of powder was blown into their area from the walls.  
  
"Watch out!" Kurama and Yurinoki warned in unison as they pushed everyone down to avoid the trap, covering their mouths and noses to not breathe in the substance, as well as their eyes. They got up as soon as the fine particles had settled and coated the stone floor.  
  
"What is that?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
Chunzhu knelt down and sniffed it delicately. "There is pepper, sand...and..." She held back a sneeze. "ash. I think there is something else in there too." She reached out to shuffle through the mixture.  
  
"Pepper, sand, and ash..." Yusuke said thoughtfully, "It's blinding powder! I remember it being used in a ninja movie I once saw."  
  
"I found something!" Chunzhu reported. Yurinoki, Yusuke, and Kuwabara eagarly looked over her shoulder. A moment later, she drew back her hand with a cry, and the three behind her all fell backward in surprise.  
  
"What is it?" Kurama asked, kneeling down.  
  
"Shards...of glass," Chunzhu said, holding up her hand, which now had a large but shallow cut across the palm.  
  
"Looks like Yousoyama doesn't like playing fair," Kuwabara said with a scowl.  
  
"We should be more careful," Yurinoki suggested.  
  
Chunzhu nodded and got up, allowing Kurama to quickly clean off her cut with a handkerchief he had in his pocket.  
  
Everyone was careful to avoid the mess left on the ground as they went deeper into the mountain, and the path sloped lower underground. After about a minute of running hastily, they came to a three tunnel parting.  
  
"This is not good," Chunzhu mumbled, "Which way shall we go now?"  
  
"I don't know...I an't even sense any youki at all," Kuwabara said.  
  
Yurinoki felt the ground in front of each tunnel with her hand, and sighed in dissapointment, "No footprints either. Hiei must have been going so quickly, he didn't leave a trace of himself."  
  
"Well, we'll just have to split up," Yusuke decided, "We can decide who goes where by...how about playing janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors)?"  
  
Chunzhu smiled, "I like the sound of it...How do you play?"  
  
"It's easy. You have to shape your hand into one of three choices. Rock..." Yusuke put his hand into a fist, "Paper..." he put his hand out flat, "and scissors," he drew up all of his fingers except for the middle and index, which he left up.  
  
Kurama picked up, "I'll tell you the other rules some other time, but for now, we can make the first tunnel paper, the second scissors, and the third rock."  
  
"On the count of three..." Yusuke began, "One...two..."  
  
"Three!" Yurinoki called out as they all threw out their hands.  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara had chosen rock, Kurama had paper, and Yurinoki and Chunzhu's hands were in scissors shape.  
  
"It's settled then!" Yusuke announced with a grin, "Hope none of you get lost," he said. He and Kuwabara then exited through the third tunnel.  
  
"I guess I'll go now," Kurama said, turning towards the first.  
  
"Are you going to be fine by yourself?" Chunzhu wondered if he would be able to get through whatever was there alone.  
  
Kurama nodded, "I will. Good luck with finding Kushiyè, Hiei, and Yousoyama," he wished them.  
  
"You too!" Yurinoki called as they went their seperate ways at the same time.  
  
* * * *  
  
Hiei looked at his surroundings. With the help of his exposed Jagan, he was able to see everything perfectly. Although he was a little scratched up from avoiding the constant traps and litteral hit-and-run attacks from Yousoyama, he hadn't lost a bit of energy or hope. He paused to call for the millionth time.  
  
"Yousoyama! Come out here now, you coward!" He knit his eyebrows harder when he didn't recieve an answer, and began to once again run.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Urameshi...did you hear that?" Kuwabara asked quietly, trying to find the source of the slow creaking he had heard.  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Not again! This is the millionth time you've said that! It just won't scare me, face it."  
  
Kuwabara shook his head, "This time I'm serious..."  
  
"Give me a break..." Yusuke muttered, listening for a sound. The slow creaking started again.  
  
"I told you!!!" Kuwabara exclaimed.  
  
Yusuke ignored him and pointed his finger ahead of them. "It's coming from there. Come on!" They both raced down the tunnel.   
  
Just when they had gone a few feet, a shower of rocks and boulders crumbled down, blocking their path.  
  
"Another one of Yousoyama's cheap diversions..." Yusuke muttered.   
  
"Come on urameshi!" Kuwabara called while trying to move the biggest boulder, "Help clear the rocks away!"  
  
"I have an easier way, you know," Yusuke said, blue energy appearing on his fist.  
  
"Shouldn't we save our energy for fighting and stuff?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
Yusuke reared back his hand, "Clearing this mess by hand will take up time we don't have. Besides, it's too late to stop me now. Shotgun!!!"  
  
* * * *  
  
I don't like the way this is turning out for me. Kurama thought to himself. There aren't any traps. Almost as if everything's being saved for last.  
  
He froze when he came to a giant door. It was circular, and made uf a dull bronze metal. It was almsot as big as the Gates of Judgement themselves.  
  
I guess this is the end...but how do I get in? Kurama wondered to himself.  
  
Then, he saw a small panel next to the door, and walked over to it.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu and Yurinoki were kneeling down, panting, having narrowly missed an attack from one of Yousoyama's henchmen. The youkai's still body lay on the ground, battered, bloodied, and lifeless.  
  
The two girls slowly got up, "This is harder than I thought!" Yurinoki commented.  
  
"And Yousoyama is stronger than I thought," Chunzhu added.  
  
"Come on..." Yurinoki urged, continuing hte walk. Her ears pricked up when she heard a sword being unsheathed.  
  
"Shit!" she cried out as the sword was thrown, narrowly missing her and instead getting lodged deep into the wall.  
  
Yurinoki looked at the sword. A ninja's sword, with a string tied on the hilt. On the string was a very small piece of paper. She squinted at the kanji characters. "Zhu! Come here! I can't read kanji!" she called to the shocked kitsune. Holding up a bit of energy for light, she showed the writing to Chunzhu, who read,  
  
"Go under if you wish to see the mountain's core."  
  
"What does that mean?" Yurinoki wondered, extinguishing her energy.  
  
"I do not know," Chunzhu said, stepping away from the sword. Once she took a step, she fell over.  
  
"What a ditz..." Yurinoki teased, trying to pry out the sword.  
  
"Wait..." Chunzhu muttered, "I tripped over something." She felt around the area where she had fell, and came across something. It took her a second to figure out what it was. "A doorknob!" she exclaimed, turning itto open the door.  
  
Yurinoki suceeded in releasing the sword, "So that's what it means."  
  
Chunzhu eyed at the sword, looking sort of like a smaller version of a katana. "What is that for?" she asked as she set her feet on the first stair in what looked like a long set.  
  
"I might need this," Yurinoki said with a shrug as she followed Chunzhu down the stairs.  
  
* * * *  
  
Forcefully bringing down the blade of his katana, Hiei successfully sliced through the neck of the last youkai in a group of weaklings Yousoyama had sent.  
  
"Yousoyama...where are you hiding?" Hiei wondered, wiping some blood from his forehead. One of the demons had gotten to strike him, a lucky punch, narrowly missing his Jagan, "What do you want with KUshiyè?" he muttered. He had been unconscious during the revelation of the triforce.  
  
Yousoyama was watching him from high up in a crevasse. He was approached by one of his subordinates, "The demons are ready to attack," his advisor reported.  
  
Yousoyama glared, "You're too late. This little one has passed by the battle room already."  
  
"We have word another youkai is approaching," he explained.  
  
Yousoyama smirked, "Well? Are you going to welcome him"  
  
The demon grinned and bowed, "Yessir!" he exclaimed, exiting.  
  
Yousoyama turned his eyes to Hiei. "I think I'll have some fun with this little punching bag as well..."  
  
* * * *  
  
The rock barrier had been cleared away with a single shotgun, and Yusuke and Kuwabara were getting closer to the noise by the second.  
  
With a final crank, they heard a gushing noise, which then erupted into a flooding sound. They rushed over and found a sea of liquid on their would-be path. It came out of an object in the ceiling, where the cranking noise had come from. The liquid was pouring out of a funnel, and also flowed out of the mouths of the eerie gargoyle statues that decked the walls of the tunnel.  
  
"Does he really think he can fool us with some crappy watertrick?" Kuwabara said, stepping into the liquid. It was deeper than he thought, about five meters to be more precise. He sunk for a second, and then immediately climbed out.  
  
"Kuwabara!" Yusuke called, lighting up his finger with reiki as a beacon. He went over to check on his friend and cringed, "God, Kuwabara! That's not water! It's blood!"  
  
"I'm bleeding!" Kuwabara cried stupidly, falling over, then looking at the blood that he had stepped in, "Wait, no, I'm not."  
  
They both looked at the ocean of blood that covered where they should have been running on by now.  
  
They both sweatdropped, "Well I'm out of ideas," Yusuke said.  
  
"Urameshi! You won't believe this!" Kuwabara screamed, pointing into the blood.  
  
Yusuke looked over and jumped back in surprise. There were bodies. Pale, bony...dead. "Maybe if we get rid of the bodies, the blood will drain," Yusuke suggested, rolling up his sleeves and reluctantly reaching in. Then, the arms of the dead started to shoot up, grabbing Yusuke by the arms, trying to drag him in.  
  
"Join...us..." they whispered, making more of an effort to pull him in. Yusuke tore free and hastily punched the corpses away, who shriveled into the bloody mass.  
  
"This just isn't right..." Yusuke muttered in disbelief. But the remains of what were once humans were drenched in life-giving fresh blood. As their bodies feasted on it, they rapidly grew stronger.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kurama had eventually figured out that the panel was the way to open the door, and to get through you had to channel your energy into it, which sapped it away fairly quickly. After dodging a trap with several explosives, he stepped inside the massive door.  
  
It was a giant stadium. It looked empty, and was a little to quiet for him to be comfortable with. He closed his eyes for a secon.  
  
Hiei was here! He thought to himself, sensing his partner's energy closeby. No sooner had he opened his yes, when an army of demons were crowded onto platforms on the walls of the colluseum.  
  
Yousoyama's advisor jumped down from a platform. "Yousoyama-sensei has allowed us all to have a little fun with our intruder. Although, I do feel sorry for the one that came before you. He's going against Yousoyama-sensei himself."  
  
"Hiei! Where is he?" Kurama pulled a rose out of his hair.   
  
The demon pointed to another large bronze door at the other end of the large stadium, "He went through there. He was lucky we didn't arrive on time. But we're prepared for you. We've rigged the exit so that only one key will open it. The key will appear as soon as you defeat us all," he smirked as the door from which Kurama came closed, and he motioned for all the youkai to jump from their platforms, "You should have brought someone to 'watch your back', if you don't mind me saying."  
  
Kurama transformed the flower into his Rose Whip, but at that moment, a demon managed to come up behind him and, literally, stab his back, getting the idea from the advisor's last statement. Kurama stumbled forward, but quickly turned around to face the countless demons before him.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu and Yurinoki were going down the fifth flight of stairs, getting very tired of the dull, repetative, spiraling descent.  
  
"I see a light!" Yurinoki cried, running toward a piercing a shimmering glow coming from behind a door.  
  
"Are you sure we should go in?" Chunzhu questioned, cringiing as she eyed a statue of an injured, evil-looking angel pointing towards the door. It's rock was old and dark from age and weathering, and although its features were a little unclear, it was easy to see that it would have been seeking revenge, if alive.  
  
One of Yousoyama's minions eyed the two, "Feeling unsure, little kitsune? Intimidated? Does the sculpture frighten you?" he asked softly in a mocking tone, "Maybe I'll reassure you!" He pounded the ground, at first making it quiver and then start to crack and crumble beneath them.  
  
"This tremor isn't strong enough to be Yousoyama's," Yurinoki thought aloud, "He's passing his ways on to students then!" She began to open the door, its room's glaring illumination stinging her eyes, "Zhu! We have to get out of here!"  
  
Chunzhu scurried through the door, almost getting hit by the cracked off uppersection of the statue, broken off by the attack of Yousoyama's scholar. As soon as both girls were inside the room behind the door, the earthquake immediately stopped.  
  
* * * *  
  
Hiei slowly got up, having just been hit by Yousoyama in the shoulder by his last attack. Another very strong one had used magma from the innermost parts of the mountain to attack him, leaving a shiny black burn on his arm. He ignored the injury, and blocked a shower of rocks with his katana. Hiei got into an offensive position, "Are you going to run away this time?" he demanded.  
  
Silence. This was the seventh time Hiei had let Yousoyama get away. The seventh time he had failed KUshiyè...disappointed her.  
  
Hiei was hurled out of this thought as a rock tumbled right in front of him. Scratched on it in angular characters, likely to be made by a dagger, read:  
  
No need to lost your patience. When you get to the end of this path, there will be a room in which I will fight you in. You must hurry, however. I'm feeling a little restless today, and I might just take out my anger on your dear wolf friend.  
  
"Yousoyama..." Hiei growled, reading the threat he left at the end of the message over and over, "Bastard!" he yelled, speeding off to the end of the tunnel in order to insure the saftey of Kushiyè.  
  
* * * *  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara had agreed that, for a last resort, there was no choice but to swin through, which was what they were doing at that moment. The living dead were also after them, trying to drag them into their own little worlds of death and misery.  
  
It seemed like they had been going forever, and their limbs felt irritatingly numb, having to move through the dark liquid while being viciously clawed at. After what seemed like a half hour at least, they reached the end of the blood sea, and the stone-bottomed tunnel was right ahead of them. As soon as the partially rejeuvenated carcasses stepped out of the blood, their life force taken away, they fell over like any ordinairy corpse would.  
  
Having new hope installed in them, they started going down the tunnel. They felt better than before, when they were up to the chin in blood, dead bodies going after them like a pack of rats. Now, with just a few scratches, they continued. Seeing a number of statues pointing in the direction of which they were going, casting eerie looks, began to fill their minds with scary thoughts. But they were nearing Yousoyama, no question.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kurama had been fighting with everything he had. After doing a quick head cound, he discovered there were only fifteen demons left. Though they weren't S-class, they were the toughest ones, who let the ambush. Kurama, injured and tired, wasn't sure if he could fight much longer.  
  
The demons attacked all at once, unlucky for Kurama, since they were the best in Yousoyama's 'army'.  
  
I have to plan this carefully. Kurama thought, severing the arm of one demon and turning around to kill another, who was about to attack from the rear. They all started to crowd around him.  
  
"Kagon Retsuzan Shi!" he called out, swinging his whip around and killing six demons. He jumped out of the demon 'circle' and onto a platform in the wall. As he had intended, the demons jumped onto different platforms as well.  
  
Kurama, somewhat at ease that his plan was working, jumped onto one of the platforms that a demon stood upon. He swiftly cut the youkai in half, then went on to another, where he jumped on the back of the youkai and tightened the whip around the neck until it became decapitated.  
  
Seven more... Kurama counted, going over to the demon with the missing arm. He slayed him as well, severing his other arm first, and after that was done, he jumped back down to the floor.  
  
The remaining youkai also jumped from the platforms, and one hadn't even reached the ground when he also recieved a fatal hit from the Rose Whip.  
  
Five more... Kurama started running around the stadium, in a circle. The youkai followed, assuming he did this out of fear.  
  
As one caught up to him, Kurama brought down his whip, leaving four more demons. He turned to face them, and ran right past them, whip beared, killing two in a single swing.  
  
"Foolish boy!" the last one called out, attacking Kurama with his long, sharp fangs. One burrowed into his shoulder, and blood burst from it.  
  
Kurama spun his whip behind him, hitting the last youkai directly in the middle of the head. The sharp thorns allowed it to sink into it, splitting his face nearly in half.  
  
"That was pretty eas- Ugh!" Kurama held his shoulder in pain, trying to keep the blood from flowing from it. The blood had now slowed to a trickle, but it kept going all the same. The golden key then appeared in the marble center of the stadium.  
  
"The key! Yes!" He paused to see if he could sense Hiei's energy, "What the?! Hiei's energy is going up. He's using too much! Wait Hiei, don't!" He raced to thrust open the door and find Hiei.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu and Yurinoki shielded their eyes for a moment as the sudden beaming light flowed over the darkness. After their eyes adjusted, they saw they were in a quite small room, and there were two doors, one on each side of the room. In the center, a dark figure was facing backwards. It was the one that had created the earthquake before, Yousoyama's pupil.  
  
"Good evening," he said, trying to hide his intentions behind politeness, "I've been watching you both work your way though the hideaway for quite some time. Welcome to the Test of Wisdom."  
  
"Test?" Yurinoki snorted, "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Your other friends are taking their own tests as well. The Test of Strength and the Test of the Dead."  
  
"These tests sound a bit scary and dangerous..." Chunzhu said. She somehow felt they had gotten the easiest of the tests. She feared for herself though, no one else, and felt happy about it. She had a smile frozen on her face as seh looked at the doors behind him. The one at the left was painted white, and the one at the right was blue.  
  
"You SHOULD be concerned, but only for yourselves. Here's how it works:" he streched his hand to the side.  
  
A female youkai with a haunted feeling to her crept from the shadow she had been hiding in, "There are two doors," her rich voice began to explain, picking up from were he had left off, "There are too demons. One of us will tell only lies, and the other tells the truth. One door leads to certain painful death, and the other leads to your friends. You are only allowed to ask one question in order to get out, and if you try anything..." She pulled a chain and sickle out of what seemed like nowhere. "You won't live to finish off your funny business."  
  
The male demon raised his hand. "To make sure our guests don't get too wild, let's do this." Yurinoki and Chunzhu were bound up by chains as he lowered his hand.  
  
"They look so helpless," the female muttered in her cold voice, "Why not just slaughter them right now?" She drew her finger against the blade of her weapon with a murderous look in her garnet colored eyes.  
  
"Give them a chance," he replied calmly, "Ask your question quickly, or I'll personally request Yousoyama to kill off all of your teammates one by one, slowly, painfully, and guresomely," he threatened.  
  
While Yurinoki was panicking, emotions and mind clashing together, she was unable to htink of something. It made the room feel smaller, the chains tighter, and the fate of the wrong door seem even worse.  
  
Chunzhu remained calm however. So what if she died? Who would care? As she fell into a depressing flood of memories, the answer hit her light a bullet.   
  
I know this! She thought, "Yurinoki, trust me with our question privilege. I know what to do."  
  
"Good. I'm out of ideas, thought this damn riddle thing is completely old," Yurinoki remarked, "But if you want my opinion, I'd ask the boy demon," she suggested.  
  
"Okay," Chunzhu agreed, "Yousoyama's scholar! I have the question. If I asked that girl which door to take, which one would she tell me to go through?"  
  
"White door," he answered, pointing to the one on Chunzhu's left.  
  
"Then our choice is the right," Chunzhu answered confidently.  
  
"You say so..." He released them from the chains.  
  
The female demon smirked, "Are you sure?" She playfully tossed her sickle towards them, only to have it blocked by Yurinoki's newly found sword.  
  
She swung the blad back and forth with a flourish, "You bet we are, bitch," she taunted, sheathing her weapon. The motion of the blade combined with her wind powers created a gust that demolished the whole room. Yurinoki smirked as she and Chunzhu went through the door. If Chunzhu had been wrong, it was too late to turn back.  
  
The path was a dark tunnel, like before. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Yurinoki inquired.  
  
Chunzhu grinned, "Positive. You see, I had a sensei who exercised our minds by solving riddles. This one was simple. If I asked the liar, they would have lied about which door to go through. The truth teller would have told the truth. Therefore, it would have been thesame answer for either. You just have to go through the opposite of what they say."  
  
Yurinoki looked confused, "You'll have to explain that a little better some time," she observed ahead and gasped, "Look! We're getting near the end!"  
  
They both saw a flicker of light, probably from a torch, at the very end of the tunnel. Yousoyama must be there.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Ewwww ewwww ewwww!"   
  
"Would you stop complaining, Kuwabara?" Yusuke growled in a frustrated tone as Kuwabara tried to wipe the blood off of himself.  
  
Yusuke sighed and diverted his attention tothe tunnel ahead,and noticed someone else there. He eyed the figure closely, "Hey, it's Kurama! Oi, Kurama!"  
  
Kurama looked over, "Huh?" He recognised who had called him, "Yusuke," he ran over.  
  
"Are you okay, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked, sensing Kurama's energy lower thanit had been when they had entered.  
  
Kurama nodded, "Listen, Hiei is in trouble."  
  
Yusuke's eyes widened, "What?"   
  
"His energy is going down," Kurama continued, "We have to find him-"  
  
"HELP US!" cried Yurinoki as she and Chunzhu were running from the living dead, attracted to them when they had slayed several demons and let their blood pool onto the ground. Yurinoki flung her hand back as a gust of wind temporarily knocked them over, and Chunzhu tried her best to chop them apart with her elbow blades.  
  
"Zhu! Yurinoki! Over here!" Yusuke called.  
  
They ran up to them, and Kurama twirled his Rose Whip around his head as thorns flew from it, killing them all in one blow. Chunzhu and Yurinoki sighed in relief.  
  
"You look a little hurt," Yurinoki laid a hand on his shoulder, "Will you be fine?"  
  
Kurama nodded, "Come on, we have to save Hiei!" he said as they all continued to run. 


	6. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 6

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #6 - Yousoyama no Himitsu! Hiei no Hokori Abareru  
  
- Yousoyama's Secret! Hiei's Pride Rages -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
"YOUSOYAMA! COME OUT HERE NOW AND FIGHT ME FOR REAL!" Hiei called impatiently. In a brilliant flash of light, Yousoyama appeared.  
  
"I didn't realize you wanted to die already!" he hissed.  
  
"No, I'm quick to the kill. Give me Kushiyè and I'll only rip out your heart," Hiei shot back with an upset voice.  
  
"Oh, you're threatening, aren't you?" Yousoyama dully muttered in sarcasm.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Tell me Kurama, is Hiei strong enough to beat Yousoyama?" Yusuke asked as everyone was continuing to run, hurrying to hopefully help Hiei.  
  
"I'm not worried about beating Yousoyama. I'm worried about what could happen if Hiei goes too far with his energy. It could kill him," Kurama responded.  
  
"But Hiei's not that stupid. And besides, he's strong enough to win without using all his energy, isn't he?"  
  
Kurama didn't answer Yusuke. Instead, he began to run a bit faster.  
  
"Well thanks for the confident answer..." Yusuke muttered with squinted eyes.  
  
* * * *  
  
Yousoyama laughed evilly at the now injured Hiei. "You can't even stand anymore. But, I will give you a choice: You can either die here, or you can come to our side and I'll make you a leader, AND on top of that, I'll give you Kushiyè."  
  
"Heh...I think Seiryuu tried to do the same thing to me..." Hiei replied. His voice became stronger as he gave his answer to the chimi's offer, "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" He stumbled to his feet.  
  
Yousoyama shrugged and sighed, closing his eyes, "Oi, you ARE a stubborn one, ain't 'cha?" He opened one eye to look at the bleeding Hiei. "Well I guess I will kill you and your precious okami friend."  
  
Hiei's eyes, closed from pain, snapped open and glowed a bright red color, filled with anger, "NO YOU WON'T!" Hiei yelled, beginning to push his energy to the limit.  
  
* * * *  
  
From the tunnel leading to the battle, Kurama sensed Hiei beginning to lose control, and his eyes widened as he stopped running.  
  
Everyone paused when he did. "Kurama?" Kuwabara looked over to the shocked Kurama, "You okay? What happened?"  
  
"Oh no, Hiei! This is exactly what I didn't want. He's pushing his energy too far! We must hurry. Hiei is in a lot of danger!" Kurama spoke rapidly, and then continued running, faster than before.  
  
"Hey Urameshi, what's got Kurama all worked up? I couldn't hear him." Kuwabara turned to Yusuke and got confused when he saw Yusuke standing immobily. He turned his attention to where they had been a second before, and heard a couple of voices.  
  
"WAIT UP!" Yurinoki and Chunzhu were far behind, and it took a second for them to catch up before they all continued on their way to find Hiei.  
  
* * * *  
  
"You look scared and out of breath. Come on, just stand still. I promise to make it quick," Yousoyama laughed. Hiei was breathing heavily. Yousoyama had buried his claws into his neck, just missing the jugular vein.  
  
"Go...to...HELL...Yousoyama," Hiei answered. Yousoyama burrowed his claws in deeper, and Hiei screamed in pain.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Yusuke, did you hear that?!" Kuwabara stopped short when he heard Hiei's scream echo thorugh the dark tunnel.  
  
Yusuke nodded, "I did. Hiei must be hurt badly."  
  
"Come on, we are close now. Let's hurry," Chunzhu motivated, though she had fallen behind the others.  
  
Then, out of the darkness, a giant door seemed to appear from nothing. Not quite as big as the ones Kurama had unlocked, but it still looked very hard to open, as it was. They had tried hard to unbolt it, even channeling their Rei Ki, but it was an unsuccessful attempt.  
  
* * * *  
  
Yousoyama turned to the large door that everyone else was right behind, trying to open. He looked at Hiei, still listening to the voices behind it. "Ugh! Your friends are geting closer...Guess I should finish this now." Yousoyama sank his nails in even more, as if he were about to stab them right through his neck. Hiei could only scream in anguish even more.  
  
* * * *  
  
His cries were heard straight through the heavy door as if it were made of air. "No, Hiei!" Yurinoki exclaimed, "Come on you dumb door, open," she mumbled, struggling to unlock the giant entrance.  
  
"There has to be some way to open this..." Chunzhu mumbled, studying it carefully.  
  
It isn't the same as the one that used energy... Kurama thought. But there MUST be some way to open this.  
  
"Yurinoki, I doubt talking to it will work, but maybe something else will." His eyes scanned their area. "Look for a way to open the door."  
  
"Hm..." Kuwabara walked over to the spot right next to the door. "One time, I saw something on TV where you had to put your hand next to the door and it would open." He placed his palm on the wall.  
  
"Wait!" Yusuke realized, "Didn't it have to IDENTIFY you? you know, you're not allowed in if you aren't recognized, but you get caught in a trap!"  
  
"Agh! I forgot!" Kuwabara withdrew his hand a second too late. Rocks began to fall, traps set with hopes of crushing them, and the door melted into lava.  
  
"Quick, get on the stones!" Yurinoki warned, jumping onto a large grey one. Everyone did the same, and, without time to wait for the earth to stop falling, they made their way inside the enterance. Unfortunately, the scene they were welcomed with wasn't a happy one.  
  
Yousoyama looked over. "Look Hiei, your friends are here. Too bad you can't use your voice to greet them!" His claws were nearly going right through Hiei's neck. At this rate, he really was going to lose his voice!  
  
"I wish you were here to see the fight from the start..." Yousoyama smirked at the angry group that had just arrived.  
  
"Bastard..." Yusuke growled, "At least give him a fair fight!"  
  
Yousoyama extracted his nails from Hiei's neck with a sound that resembled that of a sword being drawn, enjoying a pained cry from Hiei before he spoke. "Yes, I suppose it would be boring without a fight..." he said.  
  
"Thought you'd never ask..." Hiei said in a raspy voice, rubbing his neck. He drew his katana, and got into a fighting position.  
  
Yousoyama smirked, "So is swordfighting your specialty?" He created a sword made from rock. "I'm pretty good at it too."  
  
"Why don't you just shut up with your bragging and fight!" Hiei charged at him, and their swords locked, making a clear, ringing sound.  
  
They both let go, and Hiei's blade cut right into Yousoyama's shoulder with a direct, vertical attack. Yousoyama;s arm was rendered completely useless. It had been hit so hard, that dark blood began to flow from the wound, and he couldn't even FEEL his arm, let alone use it for attacking.  
  
"You're pretty strong," Yousoyama admired, "But did you really think that was all I had?!" He raised up his right arm, holding his sword, and large stalagmites began to rise from the ground. They raised up and impaled Hiei on the back and limbs, lifting him up to the near roof of the room. A flat-topped one also raised for Yousoyama to stand on, to be at eye-level with Hiei. "How is it?" he asked mockingly.  
  
"You like stabbing attacks, don't you?" Hiei replied, trying to remove his arms.  
  
Yousoyama shrugged, "I'm just using my abilities to the fullest...Speaking of which..." He took out some shuriken, "I'm also a ninja, you know." He twirled around a throwing star. "These are lovely, aren't they?" He pointed a dagger at Hiei's headband. "What's under here?" he asked teasingly, cutting apart the headband. He was so shocked at what he saw, he almost fell off of his rock pillar. "Is that a Jagan?!" he gasped.  
  
"You'd better not try anything!" Hiei said sternly, trying to remove himself from the sharp points of the stalagmites even harder.  
  
"Try anything?" Yousoyama pointed the dagger directly to Hiei's Jagan. "You mean like ripping this eye from your forehead?" He raised the shuriken, and then started to bring it down quickly.  
  
"I said..." Hiei finally removed one of his arms, not caring about the stream of blood that came from it. "DON'T TRY ANYTHING!" He punched Yousoyama's arm, making the small knife backfire and stab Yousoyama's own face.  
  
"Argh!" he cried as all of the stalagmites slid back int othe ground. A large wound had been cut onto his forehead, the blood dripping from it blinding his sight.  
  
Hiei's body began to glow with dark You Ki. "I think it's going to be considerably easier to beat you now," he said with a smirk.  
  
"This can't be good..." Kurama said quietly.  
  
"What?" Chunzhu asked, turning to him, "But isn't his ki high right now?"  
  
Kurama shook his head. "He used a lot of strength and energy already. It's now less than one fourth of its fullest. At this rate, he's going to tap into his life energy to defeat him, and he seems willing and determined enough to do that."  
  
"Life energy?!" Yusuke cried, surprised, "But that's going to kill hiim! Don't you think he's too smart to just give up his life for one battle?"  
  
"It must be Kushiyè," Yurinoki guessed.  
  
"Wow..." Chunzhu said, "Then does that mean Hiei...?"  
  
Everyone looked over to her.  
  
"Does that mean Hiei is her friend?" she asked.  
  
"How naive!" Yurinoki scolded before turning her attention to the fight.  
  
Yousoyama laughed, "I see you're trying to tap into your life energy. That's stupid. Even if you do beat me by some odd chance, everything here will go down with me!"  
  
"We'll see..." Hiei murmered, drawing his katana.  
  
"That stupid sword again..." Yousoyama said, "Honestly, you're just so stubborn!"  
  
"Hiei..." Kurama began, "is putting his LIFE energy into that one sword attack! He could seriously die!"  
  
Everyone looked over intently, hoping htat wouldn't happen. Hiei's sword started glowing with his energy as Hiei charged at Yousoyama.  
  
"HIEI, DON'T DO THIS! YOU'LL DIE!" Kurama called, trying unsuccessfully to reach the angry fire youkai. Hiei charged right at Yousoyama, and his sword went right into him, slicing through his heart.  
  
"Y-you're pretty strong," Yousoyama sighed with his final breath. Blood bubbling from his heart, he collapsed, and then finally perished. Right after he did this, Hiei also descended to the ground.  
  
"Oh my God, HIEI!" Yusuke called. Everyone worridly ran up to him. Yurinoki checked his pulse...Nothing.  
  
"He's dead," Yurinoki murmered sadly, her eyes glassy and filling up with tears. Everyone stood speechless. Chunzhu respectfully kneeled down.  
  
All Yusuke could manage was a solemn, "Shit..."  
  
Kusiyè, who had been lying in a comatose state in the corner of the room, slowly opened her eyes. Chunzhu somehow felt Kushiyè awaken. "Huh? Kushiyè!" Chunzhu ran up to Kushiyè, who didn't have a clue about what was going on.  
  
"What happened?" asked Kushiyè cluelessly.  
  
Chunzhu flinched and turned her head.  
  
"Hm? Zhu?" Kushiyè sensed Chunzhu's reluctance, "What's wrong, Zhu?"  
  
"Hiei..." muttered Chunzhu.  
  
"Huh? What's wrong with Hiei?" Kushiyè asked worridly.  
  
"He's dead," Chunzhu said unsympathetically, almost cheerfully.  
  
Kushiyè's eyes widened as she ran up to the deceased Hiei. She smelled the blood and death of both the fighters, especially Hiei.  
  
"No...It's not true...Hiei."  
  
Chunzhu again followed Kushiyè. Kushiyè looked too upset to even talk. "Kushiyè..." Chunzhu blinked in surprise as she saw tears of blood dripping down Kushiyè's cheeks. She gasped.  
  
No way. Kushiyè...she couldn't be...Could she? The Maiden of Death...No...Don't even think that. Chunzhu thought.  
  
One of Kushiyè's bloody tears dripped onto Hiei's body. It landed on his hand, and then...it moved? Did his hand just twitch?  
  
Chunzhu gasped again, "This is strange. I am getting scared..." She called to the others, "Kurama! Yusuke! Kuwabara! Yurinoki! Come over here!" They all rushed over to her.  
  
Kushiyè saw Hiei's movement and smiled, wiping a few leftover tears from her eyes, "Hiei, you're alive?!" Kushiyè wrapped Hiei into a hug, making him blush.  
  
However, a deep rumbling destroyed the happy moment. "Uh oh. That's a problem," Chunzhu said worridly.  
  
"What?" Yusuke asked, confused.  
  
Chunzhu's eyes unfocused for a second, then returned to normal, "When Yousoyama dies, so will this castle. It was a part of him, his creation. In fact, there's even a chance the whole realm will collapse!" Chunzhu explained. How did she know that? Hm...Yousoyama must have mentioned it at some point.  
  
"Umm...Can we get out?" Yusuke asked stupidly.  
  
"Right. Yurinoki, can you transport us?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
Yurinoki looked uncertain, "My energy is a little low from the obstacles...also, I'm not sure if my oar can hold all of you..."  
  
The cave thundered again, this time louder. "JUST DO IT!" Yusuke commanded.  
  
"Fine, get on then," Yurinoki hopped onto her oar.  
  
Before Kushiyè had a chance to, a giant boulder dropped down and slammed Kushiyè's arm. "UGH!" she cried.  
  
"Kushiyè! Hold on!" Chunzhu yelled over the crumbling of the castle. Chunzhu grabbed onto Kushiyè's arm, then worked calmly from there, until Kushiyè was free. As soon as the mountain had crashed down, Yurinoki had zipped out of the cave.  
  
As soon as they got outside, it became obvious that the whole realm actually WAS getting destroyed.  
  
"I'll open the portal and we call all get out of here. Make sure to hold on tight. With all of the falling debris, it's going to be a hard ride!" As they all slipped through the narrow portal, a giant explosion ceased the existance of Yousoyama's realm.  
  
Everyone sat on the ground, exhausted. Chunzhu's eyes scanned the group, seeing everyone hurt. Chunzhu crawled to Kushiyè, clutching her arm, wincing in pain.  
  
"Is there something wrong with your arm, Kushiyè?" she asked.  
  
Kushiyè tried putting her arm out of Chunzhu's sight, "Nothing. It's fine."  
  
Chunzhu put on a look of disbelief and grabbed her arm. "Let me see..."  
  
Kushiyè winced again. It hurt if anything barely touched it. That couldn't be a good thing.  
  
"Kushiyè..." Chunzhu inspected, "I think that boulder might have broken your arm."  
  
She pulled her arm away. "Don't worry about it. It'll heal."  
  
"Demo- (But-)," Chunzhu began.  
  
"Look..." Kushiyè spoke to everyone, "I don't think I should be involved with you guys anymore. All I've done so far is cause trouble. Now, everyone is injured, and its my fault. I should just leave for good." She stood up and turned towards the forest.  
  
Chunzhu stood up, surprised, "Kushiyè, you should not talk that way. We do not mind, really." She paused to put on a playful smile. "I am sure Hiei would not appreciate it if you ran off right after he sacrificed his own life to save yours. Also, you and I have been together for so long...Please do not leave us." She really was being nice now...Did she feel bad for her? Jealous because of how good-hearted those tantei had been saving her?  
  
"You don't understand though! I can't help but feel guilty, and I don't care how much I mean to anyone. I just don't want to see any of you get hurt because of me!" With that, Kushiyè darted off into the Youkai Mori before anyone else had a chance to say anything.  
  
"Kushiyè! Wait!" Chunzhu ran off after her, forgetting completely about everyone else. She was a little...worried, was it? If Kushiyè went into the Youkai Mori in her current condition, she could...Chunzhu didn't want to think about it anymore. She looked up at the crescent moon in the darkening sky, which seemed to get brighter as she got closer to where Kushiyè was. 


	7. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 7

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #7 - Kushiyè no Aku Henshin! Ne Onpu ga Kikoeru  
  
- Kushiyè's Evil Transformation! The Music is Heard -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
The crescent moon in the night sky was at its peak at midnight, lingering high above everything else. With the darkness of the shadows and night, it was hard to see anything.  
  
Something is wrong. I can feel it...Chunzhu thought to herself, clutching her hands close to her body insecurely. "Where could Kushiyè be? I hope she is alright." Chunzhu continued.  
  
"Looking for me?" Kushiyè appeared through the shadows of the Youkai Mori, leaning against a sakura tree.  
  
"Why did you run away like that? You had everybody worried," Chunzhu told her.  
  
"That is the exact reason why I left...I worry everyone. I'm sick of it!" Kushiyè said, frustrated.  
  
"No, you do not. Now come on back," Chunzhu encouraged the upset okami.  
  
"But Hiei died for me, that stupid bloke," Kushiyè argued sharply.  
  
"Stop it, no arguing! Don't run off because you are worried about us. And besides, Hiei is alive because of you!" Chunzhu was getting frustrated by Kushiyè and her idiotic belief.  
  
"Fine, now please let me be. I'd like to go to sleep." Kushiyè sprinted off into the dark.  
  
"Wait!" Chunzhu called. She wanted to speak with her more, find out why she was so upset, but she was unable to reach her.  
  
In the distance, Chunzhu heard a howl. It was immediately recognized. "Kushiyè!" Chunzhu called, running deeper into the forest. She was unaware of the yellow, evil eyes staring right at her. In an instant, a demon jumped down from a tree and swiped her claws at Chunzhu's arm.  
  
"Aiyaa!" Chunzhu cried in surprise. She looked at the demon that had attacked her, which alarmed her even more. "Huh? K-Ku-shiyè, is that you? Are you okay?" Blood began to drip from Chunzhu's arm. "Could this truly be Kushiyè?" Chunzhu wondered, dodging another attack from the okami. "Kushiyè, do you not recognize me?!" Chunzhu jumped onto a willow tree to avoid Kushiyè's razor sharp claws.  
  
"SUISHORI!" Kurama had sensed something was wrong, and ran from Kuwabara's house to the forest to find Chunzhu and Kushiyè. "I'm too late...She already transformed," Kurama noticed.  
  
Chunzhu rushed over to Kurama when she noticed him, nearly running him over. She slowed down in time, and he grabbed her on the shoulders to calm her down a little.  
  
"What do you mean she ALREADY transformed?" Chunzhu asked.  
  
"What?! You don't know the legend between wolf demons and the Crescent Moon of the Devil?!" Kurama asked in amazement.  
  
"What's the legend?" Chunzhu questioned.  
  
"According to it, every one hundred and thirty-two years, the Crescent Moon of the Devil comes out, and all of the okami youkai lose control of their senses and bodies. They even attack their friends," Kurama explained.  
  
"How long does this last?" she questioned further.  
  
"Until morming," Kurama answered.  
  
"So what are we supposed to do until then?" Chunzhu wondered.  
  
"How about...we keep dodging." Kurama suggested the obvious as he avoided an attack from Kushiyè's razor sharp claws.  
  
"That helps!" Chunzhu cried sarcastically while running from the evil Kushiyè's attacks.  
  
Kurama pulled a rose out of his hair. "I guess we should take the offensive then? Rose Whip!" The rose transformed into his whip, it's petals delicately falling from its stem.  
  
Chunzhu was temporarily hypnotized by the lovely shower of colored leaflike structures, but then snapped out of it when they had all fallen. "Kurama, be careful," she warned shyly.  
  
He nodded at her and expertly tied Kushiyè to a tree with a flick of his whip. It wouldn't hold for long though. Kushiyè was already starting to split it apart. Kurama was amazed that she was able to break it.  
  
"Kurama..." Chunzhu began, "How about I create a distraction so that we can both get away."  
  
Kurama nodded. "I guess that would work. What are you planning on doing?"  
  
Chunzhu shrugged and put her hands out in front of her. "I do not know...Whatever comes to me first, I guess!" She ignored the look on Kurama's face and fired a blast of light. What looked like a mouse or rabbit made of fire and lighting appeared.  
  
"Is that the best you can do?" Kurama asked nervously.  
  
Chunzhu nodded, "Trust me. She has so little self-control she'll hunt it donw before she finds out it is kitsune-bi."  
  
Sure enough, Kushiyè saw the little mammal begin to run, and chased after it, completely forgetting about Kurama and Chunzhu, who started running as soon as she left. Kurama climbed up a tree, also helping Chunzhu up, and intended to stay there until Kushiyè came back.  
  
"The sun is starting to come up..." Kurama said, examining the sky. "This will be over soon."  
  
Chunzhu gave a relieved sigh. "I just hope this does not happen again."  
  
Unfortunately, Kushiyè had come back, and she crept up behind them and swung her arm, slashing Kurama's neck. They both jumped down from the tree and started running again. Kushiyè, however, didn't follow this time. She fell to the ground and returned to her original state. No one had witnessed this though. Kurama and Chunzhu had went to the outside of the forest, looking in, awaiting Kushiyè.  
  
"She is not coming..." Chunzhu started to walk toward the path they had come from. "I am going to see what is wrong. Please stay here."  
  
Kurama nodded in understanding and watched her leave. He let out a little chuckle at her attempt of being brave. She was acting foolish, yes, but she was trying all the same. He looked up, noticing the moon had almost completely dissapeared. But...what if Kushiyè's evil facade hadn't?  
  
* * * *  
  
Kushiyè's eyes slowly opened in awakening. She sat up and froze, sensing something there. Scanning her surroundings, she realized that Chunzhu was there.  
  
What is she doing here? And why am I on the ground? Kushiyè wondered. She was aware of something else odd. Fear. Why was Chunzhu scared? She stood up and walked to her. "Zhu, what's wrong?" As she got closer, she smelled blood. "Are you hurt? What happened?" Kushiyè couldn't remember anything since last evening, when she had run away from everyone. The very last thing that occured was a horribly painful headache...but then what?  
  
Chunzhu backed away from her. Kushiyè could hear her footsteps. The distinct smell of her blood was now definite. Blood, fear...What was wrong? Someone must have hurt her, but who?  
  
"Who hurt you?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
Chunzhu laughed nervously. "Kushiyè..." she weakly managed to say, as if she were expecting Kushiyè to rip her head off.  
  
Kushiyè didn't move. Chunzhu continued, "Well, I really do not have a clue what is going on. Ask Kurama, he's right outside of the forest." She began to walk away. "Come on." Her hand motioned for her to follow.  
  
Kushiyè did follow, with a million questions on her mind. What was Kurama doing in the forest? Were they both hurt? Who did this? Why is Zhu acting so nervous? Why can't I remember what happened last night?  
  
They reached the edge of the Youkai Mori, where Kurama sat, waiting. Kushiyè sensed that Kurama had been injured as well, and he also seemed a little nervous.  
  
"Kurama, tell Kushiyè what happened. I did not really understand that legend stuff," Chunzhu said, sitting down next to Kurama. She cautiously examined the cut on his neck.  
  
Kurama winced as her fingertips fluttered around it, then sighed. "Last night, the Crescent Moon of the Devil came, and legend states that all okami youkai are affected by it, losing control of themselves, and attacking anything in their sight. That's what happened to you, and we were unfortunate enough to be there when it happened." He coughed, the gash on his neck affecting his voice a little.  
  
Chunzhu drew back her hand in surprise, then patted his back and offered to help him up. He refused at first, but then after a failed attempt to get up on his own, she pulled him up.  
  
"Thankfully," Chunzhu continued, "it only happens once every one hundred and thirty-two years." She turned away from the Youkai Mori. "Now that the nightmare has ended, we should go check on the others," she said cheerfully.  
  
Is it really over though? Something still doesn't seem right... Kurama thought, keeping it to himself as he stood up.  
  
"Kurama, do you have something on your mind?" Kushiyè asked a very confused Kurama.  
  
"Nothing," he lied.  
  
I wonder...was that the truth or just a cover-up? Kushiyè thought to herself as they continued through the Youkai Mori.  
  
When they reached the city boundaries, Kushiyè stopped suddenly.  
  
"Hm? Kushiyè..." Chunzhu stopped, followed by Kurama. Kushiyè seemed a little frightened for some reason. "What is wrong Kushiyè?" Chunzhu asked innocently.  
  
"Ummm...problem," Kushiyè whispered in her Australian accent.  
  
"What?" Chunzhu asked, naive to the fact that she looked very foolish.  
  
"Um...just look at me for a second and then you'll figure it out." Kushiyè stood completely still.  
  
"Hm..." Chunzhu looked at her carefully. A long, pointed ear twitched. She streched out her clawed fingers and three bushy tails waved behind her. Those were features no one else in the city had.   
  
"Oh," Chunzhu realized, laughing nervously.  
  
"Right...so what do we do?" Kushiyè asked.  
  
"I have no idea," Chunzhu answered, looking down helplessly.  
  
"How about you go into a human form," Kurama suggested.  
  
Kushiyè smiled, "That would be a great idea!" She paused, and her face faulted, "If I knew how to transform."  
  
"Just focus all of your ki on a human form," Kurama explained.  
  
Kushiyè looked at him with disbelief. "Okay, easier said than done," she commented.  
  
Kurama took her hands in his and transfered some of his human energy to her. "Just give it a shot, Kushiyè," he said reassuringly.  
  
Kushiyè couldn't help but let out a small laugh as a pair of silver kitsune ears sprouted from his head, due to the loss of human energy. After she was finished, she focused all of her energy on a human form.  
  
As Chunzhu saw the ears appear on Kurama's head, a wave of confusion swept over her. Why though? The sight seemed familiar, and made her feel...strange. It was hard to describe. Possibly a hostile feeling? She let her back fall against a tree for support, digging her nails into its bark to restrain herself from inflicting the pain that was forming inside of her. What reason did she have for it though? What was wrong with herself? She let out a sigh from her burning chest, feeling the anger leave as quickly as it had come. She stayed against the tree, the searing pain 'echoing' throughout her body. Why did that happen though? The impossible thought struck her. Kurama could be a kitsune. She remembered one time before her fight with Yousokaze, someone mentioned it...but how could she have been so ignorant? She would have to confront him some other time though. She didn't want Kushiyè to see her so stressed.  
  
Kushiyè's form was already beginning to rapidly change. Her tails dissapeared, paws turned to feet, claws and fangs vanished, and her ears shrunk to a normal size.  
  
Chunzhu took in another deep breath, let it out slowly, and looked over at Kushiyè. She left the kind support of the large tree and took a step towards her...away from Kurama. "Wow, you look so different," she breathed as Kushiyè felt her ears in confusion.  
  
Kurama eyed Chunzhu suspiciously. "What's wrong with her?" he muttered to himself. He didn't bother to worry though. She was probably just a little tired from the assault Kushiyè had set upon her earlier. "Can we go now?" he asked.  
  
"Hai," Kushiyè answered. She took one step. "Ahh!" Kushiyè lost her balance and fell. "Ow."  
  
"Kushiyè, are you okay?" Chunzhu looked down to where she had fallen.  
  
"I...can't...walk," Kushiyè complained.  
  
"Why not?" Chunzhu asked.  
  
Before Kushiyè could answer, Kurama began an explaination. "It's her feet and lack of tails. She's used to having paws and tails to keep her balance."  
  
Kushiyè stumbled to her feet. "Thank you, Kurama, so how can we fix this?"  
  
Kurama looked clueless for a second. "This is annoying. Okay...Try to keep your balance," he suggested.  
  
Kushiyè's eye twitched. "That was helpful," she said with sarcasm.  
  
Chunzhu grabbed Kushiyè's arm. "I will help you," she proffered, "Where are we going, Kurama?"  
  
"Everyone should be at Kuwabara's house." He turned to begin walking, and gestured for them to follow. "I'll lead." He gave a flawless, amiable smile to the stumbling okami to cheer her up.  
  
The unbalanced okami giggled, and Chunzhu rushed up to Kurama, after making sure Kushiyè could walk by herself for at least a minute. "Kurama, when you were transfering your ki...what were those ears?" She spoke in a low voice.  
  
Kurama looked over to a streetsign for direction. "You'll find out one day. Hopefully, you'll be ready." He really didn't want her to know about his...youkai heritage. If she ever found out, she might shoot him to hell by firing a shard of energy into his duodenum. Hell or at least the worst place he could imagine. He began thinking of ways to prevent this...because if his fear came true, she would find out and never forgive him for it. From what he heard, she had a grudge against demons as well. She probably only tolerated Kushiyè as a friend, but as for him and Hiei...He recalled how she had been so dead-set on killing Yousokaze, saying demons were evil...A bad experience, perhaps? Should he get away from her as soon as he could, or try to change her mind with kindness and generosity? Why was he worrying so much anyway? He irritably shook his head to forget all about it.  
  
Chunzhu was surprised at his tone when he had answered her. It was almost threatening, and the slight presence of a possible other self made her feel...threatened for some reason. She combed her fingers through a thick handful of blue purple hair in a small attempt to comfort herself. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked at Kushiyè, still having a hard time keeping her balance.  
  
It really was frustrating, being in that state. Kushiyè had difficulty with so many simple things. Even after obtaining a human form, she knew she didn't look normal. Hell, nobody in the group did. Kushiyè's bright green hair caught everyone's attention, not to mention the outfit she was wearing was one she had to make herself, so it wasn't exactly top-quality. She looked at the people around her. Ningens...they seemed like perfection. She received an odd glance from Zhu, which made her stop her thoughts, and fall again.  
  
"We're here!" Kurama announced, knocking on the front door to Kuwabara's house. After a moment, the doorknob clicked, and the door swung open to reveal Kuwabara and Yusuke, relieved but formerly worried.  
  
"You said you were going on a walk!" Yusuke complained. "What happened?"  
  
Kurama stepped in calmly. "I had to save the little fox," he explained shortly, trying to hide the smile that had resulted from the creation of the odd nickname he had just created for Suishori. It was a short description of the events of last night, but he really didn't want to even mention the Crescent Moon of the Devil.  
  
Chunzhu hung her head at his answer and said in a dull voice, "You didn't have to save me." She looked up to smile at Kuwabara and Yusuke, then look down again, removing her shoes and following Kurama.  
  
"Zhu's acting a little depressed," Yusuke noticed, "Should we be worried?"  
  
"Don't worry, she'll snap out of it sooner or later," a voice soothed. Kuwabara and Yusuke looked over to where the voice had come from. They saw a young, lovely girl, looking very familiar, standing in the doorway. Her voice had an Australian tone to it, one they knew...Of course, only Yusuke realized who it was, and couldn't stop Kuwabara from saying something stupid.  
  
"Oi Kurama, who's the bishoujo?!" Kuwabara called, "Did you finally get settled with someone?"  
  
"What?!" Kurama opened the door to Kuwabara's room. "That's Kushiyè!" he answered, a little embarrassed from his friend's thought.  
  
"Idiot." Yusuke teased from under his breath.  
  
Kushiyè took a clumsy step in. "I'm glad you like my human form. Of course, it takes some getting used to." She felt a strong arm sling over her shoulders.  
  
"Don't worry Kushiyè. I'll help," Kuwabara volunteered with a grin.  
  
Yusuke sweatdropped, and followed Kuwabara and Kushiyè as they started going to his room. "So, how do you think Zhu and Kurama are doing?" He couldn't help grinning. "You know, being alone in a bedroom and all."  
  
"Yusuke! I think they have more self control than that!" Kushiyè scolded, then remembering a word she once heard that seemed to fit the situation, "Although kitsune are known for their libidos..." What EXACTLY did that mean...?  
  
"Not in my room!" Kuwabara was ready was ready to ram the door open, but Yusuke held him back.  
  
"Can we see what happens?" Yusuke asked, still simpering. "Right now, they're still talking." He put his ear to the door. "Still talking..." He couldn't make out the words, but he knew it was something deep, by the tones of their voices. ANd then, they suddenly stopped. Yusuke removed his head from the door. "OKay, they've stopped talking and are now doing God-knows-what."  
  
Kushiyè slowly opened the door out of worry and curiosity, and was relieved to only find them exchanging contented smiles. Had they heard Yusuke though? Had they stopped because of that? She decided it was best not to ask.  
  
Kurama whispered something into Chunzhu's ear with a serious face on. Her eyes went soft with possible true happiness for a second.  
  
"Should I tell them?" she asked.  
  
He shook his head in refusal. "Our business," he muttered.  
  
Everyone became nervous again.  
  
She nodded happily as she began to examinehis neck injury. She wore a cute smile as he remained completely still. She was in an especially good mood because...well...perhaps this whole elemental gem stone recovery could work out better with the Reikai Tantei. He was a good conversationalist, and it was actually very relieving to have someone to speak to for once.  
  
Seeing Chunzhu investigating his wound reminded Kushiyè of the others and how they had been injured when they had rescued her from Yousoyama. "Oh! You guys need to be healed, right?"  
  
Chunzhu nodded her head, "Yes, Kushiyè can heal all of you."  
  
Kushiyè glared, "You're going to help, you know."  
  
Chunzhu shook her head. "I do not have healing powers. I do not need to be healed though. And...I suppose I have doone with I can with Kurama." They noticed his neck had been cleaned and neatly bandaged. Chunzhu put on a helpless smile. "Good luck, Kushiyè."  
  
Everyone scrambled off Kuwabara's bed as Kushiyè sat on it, finally relaxing after having a hard time walking. "Okay, come here minna!" she called, holding out her hands, palms down, over her lap.  
  
Conveniently, that was when Hiei jumped in, through the window, and darted over to Kushiyè before everyone else.  
  
"Hiei?!" everyone cried out in surprise.  
  
He nodded, "I arrived when you were speaking." He looked at Kurama out of the corner of his eye. "I was surprised at what you said." He abruptly turned his attention toward Kushiyè and examined her new human form. "You can turn back into your demon form. I can see you're...having trouble with being a ningen."  
  
Kushiyè glared, but intentionally lost all focus for her human form, returning to her original state, complete with wolfen features. Losing her focus meant more energy to be spared for healing. She raised her hands above one of Hiei's wounds, and sent her energy right toward it, healing his injury. She repeated the process with his other afflictions.  
  
After she finished, Kuwabara got there next. When finished, Kuwabara appeared to be a little dissapointed.   
  
Chunzhu looked up from a manga she was reading. "Is there something wrong, Kuwabaka?" Everyone gave soft, muffled laughs at her error. She tilted her head. What had she done wrong?  
  
"It's Kuwabara," he corrected, scowling, "and I thought healing involved physical contact."  
  
Chunzhu returned her attention back to the manga. "Kushiyè just has this thing about being single, I think. Of course...at least she has a choice in the matter," she sighed.  
  
Before Kuwabara could ask, a freshly healed Yusuke walked up to Chunzhu. "I hate to interrupt, but I think there's something wrong with Kushiyè." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and to Kushiyè, who had just finished healing everyone. She was very still, seeming to be in a hypnotized or robotic state of some sort. "I have to go now...I don't want anyone to get hurt...and a whistle is approaching," she said, making no sense, and jumping out of the open window and into the forest.  
  
"Kushiyè!" Chunzhu called, rushing toward the window. "She seemed weak...and she was acting weird. Is it okay to just let her go like that? She was saying something about a whistle...?"  
  
"You didn't hear it?" Hiei asked, surprised.  
  
"It keeps getting louder..." Yusuke looked toward the Youkai Mori. "It was coming from the forest...but I don't know why Kushiyè acted so strange-," he winced, "It's getting so high pitched..."  
  
Kurama shut the window and led Chunzhu away from it. "I wish we could go after her, but right now going outside would endanger us all. There's a demon present; one skilled with sound frequency. We should wait until the sound stops, and then we can go, but it still could be dangerous to go after Kushiyè, so we can't look for her until tomorrow."  
  
Kushiyè, you had better not get hurt... Chunzhu thought to herself, implying more of a command than a worried statement.  
  
"Daijobou, Suishori," Kurama said as cheerfully as possible. Chunzhu jumped. He couldn't have read a worried face on her, could he?  
  
"Kushiyè is a strong girl. She'll probably be able to handle it," he smiled, and Chunzhu did her best to return the expression.  
  
Kuwabara stood up, "And that gives you time to answer some questions we have. First, what did you have to save Zhu from earlier, Kurama?"  
  
He looked over at Chunzhu nervously. She shrugged, "It would be best to tell the truth," she suggested, running her fingers through her long hair.  
  
"I was afraid they were going to ask," Kurama sighed, "Last night, a curse known as the Crescent Moon of the Devil was unleashed after its routine one hundred and thirty-two year rest. The legend says that it has an effect on wolf demons, and makes them lose all self-control. It was probably just intuition that told me Suishori was in trouble, and so when I got to her, the Crescent Moon already had affected Kushiyè, who had attacked Suishori right before I got there."  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara looked a little shocked. They had understood, but Kushiyè attacking Zhu didn't make sense. They were friends. And...since when did Zhu matter to Kurama? Fortunately, the Crescent Moon of the Devil only came about once every century, so Kushiyè probably wasn't a threat to them.  
  
"Another question," Yusuke said, looking towards Kurama, "What did you say to Zhu to make her smile like that? Her smile looked so natural."  
  
Kurama shot him a warning glance, which made Yusuke push the question out of his mind. It didn't concern anyone...at least it didn't seem like it did. His main goal was to get her to speak up, and not be so detached and cold. But he himself wondered, where these long, confidential discussions benifiting him as well? Did that motivate him to do so? Was he interested in knowing more so that he could help her or himself? Getting the right kind of information could really help himself in many ways. Was he being a little too selfish? Yes. But she acted selfish as well, so could she have an aim here as well? Somehow, he felt that this would have a dynamic impact on his life, whether he regretted it or celebrated the day he came up with the idea.  
  
Chunzhu didn't like the long, awkward silence. Why was he being so secure? It seemed that everyone had that question on their minds, as well as the desicion not to ask, it being an invasion of his privacy.  
  
"Oi," Yusuke announced dully, making everyone jump at the sudden sound. "I think the sound is calming down." He walked over to the window and opened it. Besides a gentle breeze, there weren't really any other sounds out there.  
  
"What about Kushiyè?" Hiei asked. "I can't sense her."  
  
"She is probably just concealing her ki and hiding from the whatever-it-was," Chunzhu suggested.  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow, but nodded. It was a half-logical idea, but he wanted to find her. "I'm going to check on Kushiyè," he said, jumping out of the window exactly as Kushiyè had done.  
  
Chunzhu looked at him dart off into the forest. "I hope he finds her..." She paused for a moment. "Kushiyè and Hiei relate in many ways, come to think of it." To herself, she whispered, "She is lucky to have someone care about her..."  
  
"We should be going now, if everything's the same again," Yusuke suggested.  
  
"Good night!" Chunzhu called, walking out of the room.  
  
Kurama put an arm out in front of her. "Suishori, make sure to stay away from the Youkai Mori," he said, his voice serious.  
  
Chunzhu nodded, "Why would I think of going anyway?"  
  
Everyone looked a little surprised. "Don't you want to see if Kushiyè is okay?" Kuwabara aksed.  
  
No answer. Had they said something to upset her? She hurried away, needing some time alone...once again. Somehow, they managed to get her upset about those things. She couldn't blame them though. She hadn't ever told anyone, and they just were concerned. Lost in her thoughts, she accidently ended up in front of the Youkai Mori itself. It didn't look very different, but Kurama had given her a strict warning to stay away from it.  
  
"Huh?" She jerked her head to her right. She thought she had seen something move...a shadow or something. She started walking away quickly. She wasn't in the mood to fight someone, especially a demon. She heard the trees rustling in warning, as if someone was jumping from one to another, following her. She slowly turned around, even though she was afraid. She indeed sensed a strange aura, and the rough shaking of the trees were too large to be taht of a squirrel's. Yet there was no one there. Her large eyes darted to every branch of each tree nearby.  
  
She nervously blew a small flicker of fire from her mouth to her hand. At the sound of another rustling branch, she shot the fire into the tree, and heard a cry. That was exactly what she didn't want to hear.  
  
"Suishori..." A voice spoke in the back of her head. It wasn't her stalker...the voice was too different. A telepath was communicating from somewhere. "I mustn't let you live like this...I haven't given up yet, and I will come back." With that, the voice disappeared.  
  
The voice, although charming, harnessed coldness and even hatred, much like the kind that had swept over Chunzhu earlier. Somebody wasn't only following her, he was also after her. His intentions were unknown to her, because although sounding cold, there was also concern in his voice. She also didn;t sense an Elemental Gem Stone near him, but still couldn't recognize who he was.  
  
She rushed to her house, heart and feet pounding, stirring up the dead leaves around her, until she got home. Panting, she slammed the door behind her, securing the locks. After calming down, she decided to ignore it. If it happened again, maybe she'd take it into concern. But not now. Kushiyè was in the same forest that was emitting the strange demonic whistling noise. The one Kushiyè seemed so afraid of. As much as she wanted to check on her, out of instinctive curiosity, she couldn't She had promised Kurama.  
  
Promises...They were all horrible. Restrictions, really. Something to hold you back, to restrain your freedom. Hers had to be one of the worst ever made. One with Makai...with her sensei...It wasn't breaking. It was shattering. It was thrown on the ground and constantly forgotten. It truly felt horrible, when you stopped to think about it. She was sure one day it would shatter. 


	8. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 8

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #8-Chimei Onpu de Youkai! Shi no Uta ga Yomu  
  
- The Demon with the Fatal Music! The Song of Death is Recited -  
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (Mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
I wonder where Kushiyè went off to again. Hiei wondered as the Reikai Tantei looked through the Youkai Mori in search of the runaway okami. Just when they were about to give up and leave, they heard a voice singing a song (resembling Epona's Song from Legend of Zelda), The voice, tinted with an Australian accent, echoed through Youkai Mori.  
  
"Kushiyè!" Yusuke called, running toward the voice with the rest of the Reikai Tantei following. They found Kushiyè surrounded by a pack of fifteen wolves. The wolves scattered away and Kushiyè walked up to Yusuke.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. Yusuke was still dazed by the beautiful song and voice. "HELLO? Anyone there?" Kushiyè called to Yusuke, who got his attention back immediately.  
  
"What? Oh, sorry. Umm...we came to find you," Yusuke answered.  
  
Hiei ran over to Kushiyè and grabbed her wrist. "Come on, we have to go. I sense a Youso Youkai."  
  
Kushiyè yelped when Hiei tugged her wrist hard. The other tantei followed, but they stopped when they reached the edge of the city.  
  
"Oww! Hiei, you definitely have to learn to be softer. THAT HURT! Nano yo?!" Kushiyè looked up at Hiei. He was being serious. "Hiei, what's wrong?" She looked to the diretion that Hiei was staring toward and gasped. A female youkai with orange hair, brown eyes, and dark skin stood on a treetop.  
  
Follow me. She said telepathically to Hiei, her silky voice controlling his senses.  
  
"Come on," Hiei ordered, pulling her along again.  
  
"Where are we going, Hiei?"   
  
"Just come on."  
  
"Hiei...Where are we going?" Kushiyè asked, wishing he would stop tugging her arm so hard.  
  
Hiei didn't let go. "We're nearly there..." he responded as an old building came into view. A small tug made its door crash down, breaking from its rusty hinges.  
  
Kushiyè looked around worridly. "Why are we here?"  
  
He held a finger iin front of her face to discontinue her speaking. "There's an Elemental Youkai here." He spoke in a low, almost whispering voice.  
  
Kushiyè's eyes widened. She too lowered her voice. "Are you planning on fighting it? We should have at least brought the others for backup."  
  
"I didn't want to bring anyone else," Hiei answered.  
  
"At least let me fight," Kushiye offered. "You've just recovered."  
  
He considered the idea, and then nodded. "If you think you're strong enough to...I mean, you were kidnapped by Yousoyama."  
  
Kushiyè frowned,"Don't worry about me. I hate attention, remember?" She smiled sweetly at him before turning to the depths of the abandoned building. "Come out so that we can fight!" her Australian voice demanded.  
  
"Well, you seem to be eager to do battle," a pleasant voice chimed. "I suppose I'll be able to...but first I must get my job done. I understand you're not quite in a fighting mood...and I can help you with that." A figure appeared from the shadows. "This place is lovely, isn't it? It's an old auditorium. Musicians and artists used to perform here nonstop...but then there was that mysterious fire..."  
  
Hiei and Kushiyè took a moment to examine their charred surroundings.  
  
"Nobody bothered fixing it then...and it saddens me that music can't ring aloud here any longer." She paused, saddened by that fact. "But I wish to restore the music, at least for right now. But alone I don't have that power." She held up a small gem, humming a haunting rhythym. "I've collected the voices of many into this gem. I need one more in order for my work to be complete, and it has to be the voice of someone you, Kushiyè, care about, so that my duty may be fulfilled as well."  
  
"Monster..." Kushiyè growled.  
  
The demon closed her eyes and lifted the hand that held the Elemental Gem Stone of Music. "And now I, Yousoei, will perform a song of restoration, The Soul Refrain, at the price of a voice."  
  
Kushiyè shivered at the title. That alone was chilling.  
  
Return to me, flowing through memories  
  
With gentleness to the source of dreams  
  
Shine to the stars once more, to be born  
  
The Soul Refrain  
  
As the song started, Kushiyè felt as if she were being bound together. She saw that Hiei was struggling with the same effect as she had.  
  
Naked skin in the blue shadows,  
  
Trembling inside of time.  
  
As if seeking to know the whereabouts of life,  
  
Your fingertips search me.  
  
Kushiyè watched fearfully as they both were made helpless, and fell to their knees. Could as spell this powerful be activated in song?  
  
The you that was embraced by fate  
  
Blooms in season like the ephemearal flower  
  
Holding the scent of hope to your chest  
  
Scattering it hurridly in splendid form.  
  
Now it seemed as if Hiei were in pain. Seeing his eyes shut tight and his mouth closed up made her intentions obvious. She was going to steal his voice! Hiei would be made mute if Kushiyè couldn't find a way to stop Yousoei.  
  
Return to me, before you were born  
  
You passed over the Earth  
  
Return to this hand, to meet again  
  
Miracles happen, but how often?  
  
The Soul Refrain  
  
Kushiyè couldn't move, not even with the motivation she had. As Hiei slowly exhaled, she saw the Musical Elemental Gem Stone glow brilliantly and then whistle. That whistle...Kushiyè struggled to cover her ears, but her hands were forceably planted to the ground firmly before her knees As she fought the urge to kill the first thing she saw, she knew now that Hiei was stripped of his voice, which was weakened previously by Yousoyama.  
  
When you close your eyes in prayer  
  
The world disappears into the darkness  
  
Even so, the heartbeat again starts to move  
  
Searching for constrained eternity.  
  
How dare that demon sing about something like prayer? The religious Kushiyè thought, angry and frustrated.  
  
Return to me, flowing through memories  
  
With gentleness to the source of dreams  
  
You, too, return to meet and love  
  
Heart and body repeat.  
  
The Soul Refrain  
  
Yousoei was really testing Kushiyè now. She was also getting her way. She got the voice she wanted, and had angered Kushiyè by this. Not to mention the irritating whistling the gem emmited, making her head spin and her blood boil. But...she couldn't give up. No one else was going to fight.  
  
Return to me, before you were born  
  
You passed over the Earth  
  
Return to this hand, to meet again  
  
Miracles happen, but how often?  
  
As the song faded in conclusion, Kushiyè finally was able to break free. She stood up and glanced over at Hiei. He was still in taht slumped position. Kushiyè wondered what it was like to have your voice stolen, especially after a difficult battle. She turned to face Yousoei. She was ready to fight.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu quickly looked up at the sound of her doorbell ringing. Confused, as she had almost never had a visitor, she rushed there right away. "Nihao (Hello)!" she cried when she saw the Reikai Tantei, minus Hiei, at the door. She paused. "Where's Hiei-san?"  
  
"He dragged Kushiyè off somewhere," Yusuke explained. "Something about an Elemental Demon."  
  
Chunzhu's face lit up. "Really? That's great!" She loved the thought of another Elemental Gem Stone being safely recovered.  
  
Kuwabara looked at her as if she were crazy. "But Kushiyè and the shrimp are missing!"  
  
"And we hoped you could find them. Is there some way you can sense the gemstones, or something?" Kurama asked.  
  
Chunzhu smiled at him. She was going to ask why they were here, but it seemed like he already knew what she was thinking.  
  
"I will try my best." Chunzhu went outside with them and sat down. She closed her eyes and everyone felt a faint energy around her. She suddenly snapped her eyes open. "It is the Gem Stone of Music."  
  
"What about Hiei and Kushiyè?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"They are leaving...The demon has fled. Kushiyè seems angry, and Hiei...there's something wrong with him...I can't tell. And although I do know where they are," She looked up at them. "We should not go find them. They might need a few moments alone. It would be rude."  
  
"What if they need backup? You know, in case the demon shows up?" Kuwabara wondered.  
  
Chunzhu turned back to her house. "Do not worry. They are strong." She stepped calmly inside.  
  
"How could she underreact like that?" Kurama began walking from her house, along with the others.  
  
Yusuke shrugged. "I would've thought she'd say something lame like, um," He made his voice rediculously high-pitched in a futile attempt of doing an impersonation, "'We must find them! What if they are hurt or in trouble?!'"  
  
Kuwabara nodded, "Sounds more like her."  
  
"I think," Kurama began. "Something happened that we don't know about. I'll have a talk with her sometime. But...do you think we should go find them? Maybe it would be best to leave them alone..."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Where are they? It shouldn't take this long to exit the Youkai Mori," Yusuke angrily said.  
  
Yukina walked out of Genkai's temple, where they had gathered. "It is strange about how long it's taking them to exit. I hope they're alright."  
  
After about a minute, two demons came into the horizon.  
  
"Finally!" Yusuke ran up to the two, but without even a hello, the two demons walked right past him. "Well that was nice," Yusuke said with his hands on his hips.  
  
"Are you two okay?" Yukina walked up to Hiei and Kushiyè. Hiei didn't answer, not that he could, and Kushiyè stayed still, her back facing the others.  
  
Yusuke noticed something about her three wolf tails. They were bushy and puffed up.  
  
"Psst...Kurama, what does that mean? Puffed tails?" Yusuke whispered to the kitsune.  
  
"Huh? Why?" Kurama asked, for he didn't see the tails. Yusuke pointed to them. "Oh, don't go near her. She will attack, even if we're her friends. Something really bad must have happened to make them fluff out like that. Oh, and another warning: If you do go near her, expect no mercy," Kurama warned Yusuke.  
  
Yusuke gave a nervous chuckle. "Okay, nice images." His eyes twitched, imagining what the consequences would be.  
  
* * * *  
  
"I wonder what the others are doing," Chunzhu said as she walked by the Youkai Mori's boundaries.  
  
Should I? Chunzhu questioned herself.  
  
"No...no...Leave them," a voice with a mellow tone to it rang inside Chunzhu's head.  
  
Why did it sound familiar...? Was it speaking to her?! "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Chunzhu ran into the Youkai Mori.   
  
"Go back...Go back...GO BACK!" The voice kept getting louder, closer.  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Chunzhu ran faster. She got to Genkai's shriine and knew she was close to it. She stopped to take a break, and she noticed the voice was gone.  
  
What was that? Chunzhu asked herself. She looked over her shoulder to find the temple with everyone there. She ran over to it.  
  
Before she got into sight of the others, she stopped to see if she could hear the voice again and looked to see if anyone was following her. "Good."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Hi!" Chunzhu said cheerfully while everyone else was trying to get some answers from the mute Hiei.  
  
"Huh? RI-CHAN!" Kurama ran up to the paranoid kitsune.  
  
"Ri-chan?" Yusuke had a confused face, wondering where that name came from.  
  
"My nickname for her," Kurama answered.  
  
"Right...she doesn't have that long of a name, ya know."  
  
"Kurama, what is wrong with Kushiyè and Hiei?" Chunzhu asked.  
  
"For some reason, Hiei won't speak and Kushiyè is very angry. Just look at her tai- Huh?" Before Kurama finished his sentence, Chunzhu was already walking up to Hiei.  
  
"Hiei?" She called Hiei's name. Hiei turned his head and faced her. "You're mute, are you not?"  
  
"WHAT?!" Everybody got surprised when she said that. Nearly everyone. Kushiyè wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her. She kept still. Chunzhu walked behind her and put her hand on Kushiyè's shoulder. Before anyone could finish warning her, Kushiyè bit the unsuspecting kitsune. Chunzhu snatched her hand away. She was very surprised that Kushiyè had actually bit her and drew blood. The only time Kushiè bit Chunzhu was when they had first met, and that was for self-defense. Kushiyè gave a snarl and transformed into her wolf form. She started to growl at them, and looked like she was about to attack, but instead, she transformed back and jumped into the tree right above them.  
  
"Okay, what just happened?" Yusuke asked.  
  
Kushiyè's eyes widened as she sensed a demon.  
  
"YOUSOEI!" She stood up and jumped off.  
  
"Wait! There she goes again..."  
  
She followed after her, following the scent she had left behind as she fled.  
  
Hiei looked up with concern.  
  
"She will be back," Chunzhu reassured, sitting down to see to her hand.  
  
"She always seems to run off like that..." Kuwabara observed. "Why do you think she does that so often?"  
  
"She has halways not really been the type that greatly enjoys company." Chunzhu let Yukina examine the bite and try to heal her. "This time, she has something to do. I cannot let an Elemental Gem Stone get away."  
  
"This one's power is music?" Yusuke recalled.  
  
Chunzhu nodded.  
  
"That shouldn't be so hard," he guessed. "What's the worst that could happen? Becoming deaf?"  
  
"Possibly. But there are also songs that can be used as spells," Kurama explaiined. "There are many possibilities when that can be done. It really depends on the strength level of the user. In some cases, the effects can be devestating."  
  
"And I guess that means...if Kushiyè doesn't plan the fight out right, then she could get killed," Yusuke figured out.  
  
Nods came from Kurama and Chunzhu.  
  
"Shit..." he muttered.  
  
"Why is that bad?" Chunzhu asked, examining her healed hand. "You are not the one fighting."  
  
"That's what firends do," Yusuke said. "You know that."  
  
Friends...Such an awkward word... "Yes...I forgot that." Chunzhu looked away with a small nod. After a little fidgeting, she got up. "I am going inside now," she explained.  
  
"What about religion? You can handle it all by yourself?" Yusuke asked.  
  
Chunzhu nodded, but then went over to Hiei. "I think I know what is wrong. May I suggest a run-in with the power of the Onpu no Gyouku (Gem stone of Music)?"  
  
He looked up, a little surprised.  
  
She cheerfully nodded, and then walked in. 


	9. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 9

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #9 - Uta no Kon no Yuuki! Kushiyè no Kikkai Yokobue  
  
- The Music Jewel's Power! Kushiyè's Mysterious Flute -   
  
By: Reiko Aya (KitsuneMaya@koreanmail.com) and Towasei Norei (mokuro29802@aol.com)  
  
Official Webpage: http://towa-no-mirai.tk [http://freewebs.com/mayamukuro]  
  
Yousoei gracefully floated down from a tree, facing Kushiyè directly. "I am ready," she chimed.  
  
As soon as she said that, her voice rang out with a haunting tune, and no later than that did Kushiyè feel as if she were being ripped apart on the inside. She crouched down and let out a pained howl.   
  
Through the song, Yousoei watched in pleasure. She was going to win this so easily, and all she had to do was sing! Her voice became stronger as the spell became more powerful. Already, things were beginning to look hopeless.  
  
* * * *  
  
The Reikai Tantei, concerned for Kushiyè, had gone to check on her and give her advice while she was fighting, but they weren't happy with the sight they saw when they arrived.  
  
Yousoei gave a laugh as Kushiyè stumbled to her feet. Kushiyè coughed up a bit of blood.  
  
"Please give up. You know you're going to lose..." Yousoei falied to hold back a winning chuckle.  
  
Kushiyè coughed again. "N-never! You will never win!" Kushiyè quickly got back to her feet, wiped the blood from her lips, and smiled. "Heh, nothing I can't handle."  
  
If only I had my flute, this would be so much easier.Kushiyè thought to herself.  
  
Yousoei walked up slowly to the okami, who was out of breath.  
  
"C'mon Kushiyè, I know you're way stronger than this." Yusuke urged her.  
  
"Oh, this doesn't look good," Kuwabara observed, "Kushiyè can barely move."  
  
"Yes, that song DID hurt her badly." Kurama agreed.  
  
"Come on, Kushiyè! You can beat this prissy slut!" Yusuke called to the seemingly hopeless okami.  
  
"Slut?! What did you call me?! Just look at your okami friend!" cried an offended Yousoei, looking distastefully at her purple garments.  
  
Hiei stood there like a stone. He could tell they had arrived in the middle of battle, and Kushiyè had taken a very hard and brutal attack from the music demon. He felt something weighing down his hand. He hadn't been holding anything...He looked down and found, of all things, an apparently ancient flute.  
  
"Huh?" Kuwabara eyed the instrument. "Oi Hiei, where did that flute come from? I didn't know you played the flute!" he teased.  
  
Instead of giving him the warning glare he always gave when Kuwabara said something stupid, Hiei shook his head distantly, still confused.  
  
"Hiei?" Yusuke turned his head to find out what was happening back there, and his expression turned to perplexed when he saw the mysterious wind instrument. "You play the flute?"  
  
The question was starting to get annoying. Hiei shook his head, once again denying it.  
  
Kushiyè, hearing 'flute', stopped fighting to see the instrument and gasped.  
  
Are you serious? She thought to herself. "Hiei! Give me that flute! Hurry!" Kushiyè ordered.  
  
Hiei took a last glance at the flute before chucking it to Kushiyè, not seeing the point in it all.  
  
"Perfect," Kushiyè muttered to herself in inward triumph.  
  
Yousoei's eyes narrowed, taking a step from her cheery attitude. "Do you think a flute will save you?" She giggled at the seemingly pointless attempt, and felt the want to laugh a bit more. "Fine, I'll let you play a last song," she agreed, a bit of curiosity for how she played forming.  
  
"Big mistake!" Kushiyè warned, giving a little laugh. "You sure? Fine." She started to hum a very haunting tune. Although it was frightful, it soothed everyone. It wasn't really the tune, it was her voice. It was one of the most beautiful they had ever heard. The tune was then transferred into the flute as Kushiyè began to play. It immediately took effect on Yousoei. She began to feel and unbelievably sudden amount of pain. There was a minute of her suffering, and then she perished, falling and intergrating into the wind.  
  
"Kurushimena Kaze no Uta (Song of the Suffering Wind). Hope you like it," Kushiyè mumbled, stopping her song.  
  
But there was something about Kushiyè that didn't seem right. Her voice had a dark tone to it, for one! And her hair had turned darker, almost black, as well! This eviler Kushiyè turned her head to the others and gave a small laugh.  
  
Chunzhu could sense an unfamiliar spirit inside of Kushiyè. "Kushiyè! How could you do that?"  
  
Kushiyè seemed to return to normal, as her voice and hair returned to its previous state. "What?" she asked, confused.  
  
"You have just killed someone. That is not like you. No matter what, you would never kill!" Chunzhu pointed out.  
  
It was unbelievable, what she had just heard. "I what?!" It was like she didn't even remember the fight. She didn't look upset, despite the fact she had just killed. Her expression belonged more in the afraid category. She was staying still, which was probably because of the pain the multiple wounds she had endured were causing.  
  
A sudden, large gust of wind circled spontaneously around her. She felt a voice come from it, easily recognized as Yousoei's. "Kushiyè, before you destroyed me, I put a curse on you. Now, every crescent moon you'll transform into your evil self. Not just on the Crescent Moon of the Devil." A small but playful laugh followed before the wind died down, leaving Kushiyè speechless and frightened.  
  
"Hn?" Hiei felt relieved and actually glad to feel his voice return. "Kushiyè?"  
  
She was looking down unhappily. "Once again I have caused danger to you guys." Maybe I should stop this now? "Hey guys..." Kushiyè said reluctantly.  
  
"Huh?" They responded, so that she knew they were listening.  
  
"I...All those times I've be-" she began.  
  
"Stop worrying," Kurama assured, "Demo..."   
  
What did she really need to say? They all walked away, supposing it to be something Kushiyè wasn't ready to say.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Only one more, Kushiyè-san. Just relax and hold out your arm..." Kushiyè felt the last wound on her get healed by Yukina. Her hands acted as a coolant for the burning pain of the slashes.  
  
"Anything I can do?" Hiei muttered to her.  
  
Kushiyè shook her head voilently. "Minna, you've done enough already. Please stop acting so concerned." She looked down, embarrassed.  
  
Chunzhu sat alone in a corner of Genkai's temple, holding the newly gotten Elemental Gem Stone of Music in her hand. She ran a finger over its smooth surface, seeing the entrancing wavelengths dance around in its translucent inside. She clutched it close to her heart, feeling it dissolve into saftey. Its humming rang in her hears still. She slumped over on the floor, eyeing Kushiyè jealously. She knew she was badly injured, but she couldn't help but feel envious. Everyone was caring about her, something no one had ever displayed towards her...Okay, hardly ever.  
  
She felt a figure slump down next to her. Should she look up? See who had bothered to forget about Kushiyè just to sit down? No. She was not curious about it.  
  
"Ri-chan?"  
  
That was an odd way of adressing her...She looked up in surprise. "Kurama...Where did that name come from?"  
  
He smiled. "Something to call you by. It sounds more friendly than "Suishori", ne?"  
  
She looked away, suddenly engrossed with a random spot she found on the wall. "Yes...but...You should be caring for Kushiyè, like everyone else." She felt an uncomfortable amount of amiability between them both.  
  
"Ri-chan, may I ask you something?" He decided to start over, after sorting out the slight confusion.  
  
She nodded slightly.  
  
"You act so distant all the time, but I want you to become more open to us. We are your friends, right?" He looked over to her. No response. He tapped her on the shoulder lightly. Nothing. "Are you listening?" He recieved a slight nod again. She then turned around, seeing as how this was inevitable.  
  
"It is hard to explain if we are or not. I would prefer if we would not," she muttered, a slight sadness crossing her usually happy expression.  
  
Kurama held up his hand. "Did I upset you?"  
  
She abruptly stood up. "No. It is just...something."  
  
His hand gained a mind of its own as it calmped onto hers in a firm but well-meant hold. "Can you wait for a little while?"  
  
Chunzhu adjusted the loop done on the side of her head and nodded. "Why?"  
  
"I would like you to go home with me. I want you to stop being so shut out all the time. Just for a little while, okay? You can leave when you want to."  
  
Chunzhu felt her hand slip from his coaxingly. It wouldn't do any harm, probably, to just do that for once. Then again, she had never been to anyone's house but her own. She was unsure of what to do, but too embarrassed to admit it. "Yes." The small word slipped from her mouth like an unstoppable force.  
  
He stood up, noticably surprised at her positive answer as much as she was. "I'll just go say goodbye to Kushiyè and the others, and then we'll go."  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu idly prodded her bowl of white rice with wooden chopsticks, eyes fixed onto a television in the kitchen. It was only the news, but that could hold ideas to where the elemental gem stones could be, possibly.  
  
Kurama stared motionlessly out the window, at the large drops of rainwater forming on the widowsill, and covering the grass outside. He honestly was a little uncertain if he wanted to talk with her, but knew that it was the only way they could get aquainted, and to have him know about what it was that made her look so upset.  
  
"Kurama, look at this!" Chunzhu announced, pointing to the television. The rain suddenly began to fall harder, and the TV became fuzier, fragments of it only being heard. Let's see...something about a storm spontaneously forming on the coast? That WAS weird, but why was Chunzhu so excited about it?   
  
She noted his questioning expression. "This flood could only have one cause behind it: an elemental gem stone! The ocean one. I can sense it!" She closed her eyes blissfully, opening them widely in realization a second after. "Oh..."  
  
"What's wrong?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Umi (The Ocean)..." she muttered, turning towards the door. The lights flickered, then went off. A deep rumbling sound, more than likely thunder, echoed a good distance from there. Chunzhu twisted the knob, and began to swing the door open.  
  
"Ri-chan!" Kurama rushed up to the door, but not in a quick enough time to stop her from rushing out.  
  
"I have to go!" He heard her yell. IT was way to dangerous to go out, but should he go get her? He took a deep breath. The better choice was probably the latter. Besides, going out there and fighting out there in such a storm was the recipie for a mess of trouble. He opened the door, looking outside. It was a miserable combination of gusts, heavy rain, and roaring thunder. He let out a shaky breath, and ran out.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chunzhu knew better than to walk about the more industrial areas of Hanesaki Park so late at night. Why had she done it? It was the quickest way to the dock, where she would have the best chance of finding an ocean demon.   
  
A small crowd of large, muscular guys then came out of nowhere.  
  
One pinned her arms to her sides and dragged her to a tree, where she was rougly restricted to it. She remained calm for a second, letting them talk, make threats, things like that. They were a different group though. They were "recieving orders from a higher position" and claimed she needed to "pay them back". If they were just trying to confuse her, or were serious, she had a strange, burning feeling in her stomach just by looking at them. Her sight was blurred by the heavy rain (making it questionable about who the heck would mug people in a storm), but she could distinguish five figures.  
  
The first was taken down with a simple, clean punch. She used a series of kicks, forgetting it as her weak point, reciveving a sharp jab into the ribs in the process, and another hit her in the head right above the left eyebrow. He was using a razor blade or something, she could tell when blood began to form from the incision.  
  
As one slammed into her side, she hit another in that sensitive, vulnerable area of the neck before falling over. Regaining balance, with no help of the blood and rain getting in her eyes, she felt herself get taken down again, feeling the head wound drip more into her eyes and mouth. She wiped the metallic taste off, pausing. She shouldn't be getting too injured! She had to get the ocean gem!  
  
A temporary loss of her attention gave one of the remaining two thugs the oppertunity to send a fierce blow to her stomach, making her sprawl onto the ground. She was starting to get faint from the loss of blood. Honestly, head wounds were what she like the least. They bled too much, and they had been so close to getting to that area right above the cheekbone, not even an inch from where she had gotten hit.  
  
She focused on the fight now, using one of the guys' charging strength against him and throwing him to the ground. In the time it took for him to get up, she was able to get back on her feet. Just as she did, another slammed her from behind and sent her back onto the pavement.  
  
Inari, she felt horrible. She crouched over, feeling like she was about to die. She saw the pinkish mix of her blood and the rainwater staining her clothes, and felt one of those guys brutally stand her up. She felt a cold, wet blade of a large knife face itself to her neck. She couldn't be taken down by these punks though! She deserved a more respectable death, if any!  
  
Using up all the strength she had left, she slammed her heel into the guy's shin as hard as she could. To the other, she sent a searing blow to his head, followed by a quick one to his abdomen, making him crumple up and gasp for air.  
  
She picked the knife up without a pause and threw it off. SHe saw it cut its arch-shaped path through the shower of water.  
  
The guy who she had kicked had recovered now, standing up for a face off with her. His face was swollen grotesquelyfrom what seemed like a previous conflict, and his jacket was speckled with the pink that was rain and probably her blood. She felt her eyesight become lost in the blurred rain, half of it at least coming from the blood loss. She heard an impact before actually feeling a punch come in contact with her shoulder, making her step back. She blinked, trying to make sense of the blurred images in front of her. Seeing the outline of her opponent, she struck him across the face, a pleasing crack coming from his nose. In return, his fist came in contact with her cheekbone, causing her to fall back.  
  
Oh no...Get up! I have to get up! As much as Chunzhu wanted to, she couldn't. SHe could feel him advancing up towards her, and closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. Her body, mainly her head, stung unbelievably, and as much as her mind tried to convince her body, they just couldn't connect to have her continue fighting.  
  
That was odd. No more punches? No kicking? No savage excecution with that knife? She opened her eyes and rubbed them, seeign that the last one had run off. Strange. Why would he have done that? 


	10. Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones 10

Towa no Mirai: Elemental Gem Stones: #10 - Umi no Chikara to Kigurai! Chunzhu-chan no Hatsuni Tabine  
  
- The Power and Pride of the Ocean! Chunzhu's First Sleepover -  
  
By: AMENO (Contacts: Oomori Aya-KitsuneMayakoreanmail.comTowasei Norei-mokuro29802aol.comSango-katelynroptonline.net)  
  
Official Webpage: http:towa-no-mirai.tk Chunzhu heard a faint rustling behind her. It was the familiar sound of footsteps, and she was able to tell this individual wasn't as hefty as the others, but all the same approaching. She really couldn't handle another fight, but she really couldn't have herself act as a punching bag either.  
  
"Hey-"  
  
Her new opponent was cut off as she whipped around, pounced, and tackled him to the ground. He shouted in surprise as the force of the attack caused them to roll, limbs tangling, across a soggy grass patch. She felt strong arms circle her hips and pull her down. They went through one last tumble before she pinned him under her. She secured his torso between her knees and shoved his head to the ground. Adrenaline getting started up again, she tightened her grip around his neck to get a better look at his face.  
  
The rain was seriously playing tricks on her. Either that, or excessive bleeding caused illusions. She blinked twice in disbelief, feeling her heart sink down to her stomach. It was Kurama.  
  
She let him go with astonishment, and he used the opportunity to flip her over imediately. He pressed her shoulders into the ground with his hands, kneeling over her.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked above the loud storm. He noted what looked vaguely like blood through the dark night. She hadn't fought the ocean demon, had she?  
  
"Getting the elemental gem stone, but these guys came and attacked me," she responded relatively calmly. She was having a hard time taking in oxygen. It was either the storm water, rising up to her earlobes by now, the dizzy confusion caused by her wounds, or the fact that Kurama was gripping her waist too tightly between his knees, and digging the heels of his hands into her chest...or a combination of it all.  
  
She moved fluently, grabbing both his arms with her hands and pulling them out from under him. That didn't help. He fell over unexpectedly on top of her, and she flipped him over again with some quick thinking. She drove a knee into his abdomen and pinned him to the ground with her forearms. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.  
  
He sighed, feeling absolutely silly for putting up with this. "Looking for you. You can't be out here. Now get off!" Becoming more forceful, he wrapped his arms around her back in a violent spin-off ofa bear hug and tried to roll her off. She didn't move.  
  
"I will," she muttered quite audibly, considering her face had been buried into his neck. "You have to let me go first though." He could actually feel her lips form the words onto his skin, uncomfortably making him want to get out of the awkward state. However, neither of them made an attempt to move.  
  
"I want you to go first," he muttered into her hair, his voice strained by her knee practically impaling his stomach.  
  
She slowly, reluctantly let up the pressure from her knee.  
  
He quickly threw her off, surprisingly hard, her bottom coming into a stinging landing on the pavement. She gave a quick hiss-like exhale as a complaint.  
  
She couldn't help having a sudden surge of anger. As soon as he got to his feet, she got to hers and shoved him. He stumbled back a little, then jumped at her and shoved her right back.  
  
This was unbelievable. It was so completely unexpected of him...As soon as she gained her balance, she stormed at him, shoving her shoulder into his solar plexus, due to his tall height.  
  
She was pleased to see she had nearly knocked the wind out of him. She put two hands on his stomach and pushed him to the ground.  
  
With impressive speed, he rolled towards her and hugged her ankles. She cried out in surprise as he pulled her legs out from under her, causing her to fall directly on top of him.   
  
Confused and offended, she grabbed whatever she could, which turned out to be his hair. he grabbed hers right back. She advanced her grip to the back of his neck, trapped otherwise. her legs were wrapped with his, and his arms encircled her waist.  
  
She stopped when she had finally regained a tiny bit of sense to realize what she was doing. Well, to put it bluntly, she was on top of some guy she had only known for about a week, being reduced to pulling hair like a five year old. She was a master at Wind Dance though! She had weapons! What was she doing playing around when there was a thunderstorm going on around them?! The long crimson locks slipped from her hands in surrender.  
  
He also, in realization, let go of her, allowing them both to stand up. What had just happened? It seemed like more of a hazy, messed up dream than an actual happening.  
  
She started to walk away again, her walk evolving into a sprint before Kurama grabbed onto her arm. She whirled around in surprise. "I have to go," she insisted.  
  
Was there any way to convince her? He pulled her up to himself, wrapping her in a diliberate embrace...or was it intended to be a temporary restraint for what was a wild animal a minute ago? "The only place you're going is back," he demanded.  
  
"No, I..." She stopped when she felt another dizzy spell come over her, and she let out a small, sibilant sneeze, followed by a cross between a choke and a cough. A weakened sigh let itself from her lungs as it became obvious she'd get pneumonia if she were to stay out any longer.  
  
"Darn, I am getting sick..." she muttered, finally giving up the fight for good. She let out another sneeze.  
  
Funny. She seemed a lot more determined than to be stopped by a cold. Though she could be considering the chance of pneumonia...He let go in triumph. "Let's go them."  
  
She had just gotten out of the warm shower, washing off bloodstains and the cold seawater of the flooding ocean. She felt chills rush at her body before she wrapped on a towel and got out.  
  
"Kurama?" she called.  
  
"I'll be right there!" he responded from downstairs.  
  
Chunzhu nodded. She had never really been to anyones house before. It was a lot smaller than hers, but had this odd, warming feeling that hers lacked. Her right cheekbone ached. The cut on her forehead stung. Her stomach muscles ached. At least the cold had gone away though; she had found it lucky to have it last for such a short time. She felt herself travel across his bedroom from the adjacent bathroom and sit on the bed. There was an odd feeling she got from this whole place, unfamiliar yet comforting.  
  
"Ri-chan?" Kurama said, announcing his arrival, and breaking her form the trance she had watching the rain.  
  
She turned around, her gaze alarmingly soft, "Hi."  
  
He was quiet for a moment, not realizing it, he looked at her, noticing how frail she looked. It was supernatural how someone so delicate looking could manage to go through a fight. He wanted to say something, but for some reason, his conscience held his tongue. He took a few steps towards her instead.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.  
  
"Fine. You?" Since when had he become monosyllabic?  
  
"Fine," she muttered back. After a long pause of consideration, she said, "I hope you forgive me for attacking you. I wish I could do it over." Her voice had a new kind of glass-like tone to it now, irritatingly fragile, ready to shatter at any moment.  
  
"No, it's..." Oh! He remembered something he wanted to ask her. "What happened earlier? You seemed unnaturally paranoid."  
  
"Like I said, people attacked me. A gang saying I owed them something." She Nervously raised her arm to brush some hair out of her face, revealing a small, mauled spot right above her elbow.  
  
"Oh." He felt himself catch his breath as he sat down right next to her, fingers hovering above the injury.  
  
"This?" She raised her arm to him, a little confused about his reaction. Good thing she bandaged the only serious cut she had gotten on her head. The sight of the thing was really inexcusably large and damaging to her appearance.  
  
Without any thought, he let his fingers graze the damaged area, feeling that sympathetic emotion again. She really probably was fragile, but more in mind than body. He set his hand down when he felt his face turn warm. He sincerely hoped he wasn't blushing as he felt the warmth travel across his arms and chest. Some insane instinct made him inch closer to her, breathing in her scent, one that strongly resembled camomile.  
  
She gave him an amused smile. "You should see the ones on my stomach. That is nothing in comparison."  
  
Inari-sama...it was a mistake even to imagine it.  
  
"And..." She lifted a damp sheet of hair to reveal another slash right under her ear.  
  
The inexplanable instinct made his hand go to her hair. It was a little wet still, but kept its silky texture and odd but lovely blue-purple, night sky color.  
  
His eyes went to the wound, followed by his lips. It was all so sudden, he had managed to surprise himself. He felt like he had lost his mind, and seriously believed there was some drug that was taken accidently at one point that made him act so thoughtlessly and odd.  
  
His lips brushed against her neck in a small half-kiss tenderly. She let out a breath and let her head and body relax against him. She let out sort of a comforted mewl.  
  
The feared and evanescent idea of doing that again came over him as a strange idea and powerful urge. He was doing his best to resist doing so. After all, they weren't exactly on friendly terms, and they'd known each other for such a short time, it was positive either hormones or Youko Kurama were dying to take control of him.  
  
He felt the druglike, instinctive something take over as he gently raised her chin and lowered his face a bit towards hers.  
  
Her eyes were wide, glowing with a bunch of questions. They looked up at him in wonder. Her fingers were wrapped around his, and her lips were parted in a question. Her eyes then darted outside quite suddenly. "Your house is flooding," she said, her warmth and openness turning quickly back into ice.  
  
So much for a possible first kiss. He was so surprised by this he shot himself back, a good two feet or so from her, finally regaining control of himself. He rushed downstairs, finding out she was right. Was there anything he COULD do about it though? He went back upstairs, carrying Chunzhu's clothes he had just ironed dry.  
  
"Since the guestroom is downstairs, you'll-"  
  
"-have to stay up here?" She looked at him, understanding the storm was too fierce to go home.  
  
He nodded, handing over her outfit.  
  
"They smell like saltwater," she pointed out, standing up. "I will go and put them in your washing machine. Um..." she pointed to his garments, which he had not been able to change since he let Chunzhu bathe first. "Want me to put those in as well?"   
  
"I'll do it myself."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I would have to get undressed in front of you."  
  
"So?"  
  
He chocked on a response. Did she just say that? Well...he really couldn't blame her that much. She wasn't a human, not even born into human ways. THings like that probably weren't a huge, awkward issue. So in that case...  
  
He got into the bathroom, got undressed in there, and tossed his clothes out to her.  
  
"That works too," she said to herself, picking them up. "But I wish you would not dress in such an aesthetically displeasing way," she commented, walking downstairs.  
  
"What?" No response. Was she superficial or something? He only quickly washed off, taking only about five minutes. When he tried opening the door, it seemed to be stuck.  
  
"Do not come in yet," Chunzhu called from the other side of the door.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I do not have anything to wear," she responded.  
  
Obviously, she was washing her clothes. He had forgotten about that...And since he really didn't want to go through his mother's closet, there really was only one option, strange as it was for him to request it.  
  
"Um...Borrow something of mine, I guess. A shirt or something. It should be big enough for you to not need pants." Did the last part sound too perverted? Inari-sama...He came out to see her buttoning up a pajama shirt. Straightening it out, she looked up at him in a silent greeting.  
  
"Where do I sleep?" she asked, innocently watching get dressed (without a bit of amusement or any electrifying thought go through her head).  
  
"Wherever you want," he said, pulling his covers over himself. He immediately jumped back up when she got next to him.  
  
"I want to sleep here," she decided. She noted his nervousness, "If you want, you can go somewhere else-" She noted his surprised and maybe worried look. "I do not understand what you are afraid of though."  
  
Was she dumb or something? Playing innocent in order to fulfill other wishes she had? Or maybe she really was this way. But she was centuries old! How could she not know?  
  
"Do not worry. I will not try anything."  
  
She did know. "What do you mean?"  
  
She smiled, a little sadly, "I think it should be done with someone you truly love. Besides, I am saving myself."  
  
He baecame suddenly interested, "For who?"  
  
"I do not know his name, but he had long silver hair, golden eyes, and animal ears. Like a fox's or cat's or dog's."  
  
The description formed a vague picture in his head. It was familiar looking, obviously resembling his kitsune other self, which made him wonder who she had met that she owed herself to.  
  
"What if you were to fall for someone else?" he asked.  
  
"I would not," she insisted.  
  
"Ri-chan," he began, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You can't help it if it happens. You can't prevent loving someone."  
  
"But I have to. I always will. He had saved my life more times than I could count." She looked as if she were about to break down in tears. She looked away from him. "Why am I telling you all of this anyway?"  
  
He looked at her in sympathy. "You know, I wouldn't mind if you cried," he said, his hand inching from her shoulder down to over her heart, unaware of what he was doing.  
  
She grasped her hand over his, clasping onto it in a mild warning the contact of the area caused a slight pain. "I honestly do not know how. I never have cried. I have just gotten used to everything and blame myself for it so I don't get angry."  
  
"You shouldn't blame yourself for everything," he insisted, cutting her off, "Others need to do things too, but a lot of people can't admit their faults to themselves. Stop blaming yourself."  
  
Chunzhu felt an odd, stinging tug at the back of her eyes. He was getting too close to a place that hurt, and she desperatelywanted him to get away from it. She covered herself up to the neck in the comforter, lying down.  
  
"I'm fighting Youso'umi tommorrow, okay?" Kurama said, also lying down. Surely she'd be concerned for him, and try to convince him out of it? He waited...and found out he was wrong.  
  
She let out another mewling sound in response, giving him the consent to. Another gentle, comforted one, a little restrained from a mysterious sorrow all the same. She was making him wonder way too much. What had made her so upset?  
  
He finally realized what the drug that had controlled him had been. It was Suishori herself, that etheral kitsune...She seemed like she was a magnet to trouble, and it would be best to avoid her and her netherworld of problems, but he couldn't do that, somehow. It was sympathy, the other drug that had been laced into the one that was already poisoning his mind. 


End file.
